Essential to integrate tobacco control measures into poverty alleviation policies and programmes – IPS

IPS’ ongoing study on the ‘Impact of Tobacco Control on National Income’ shows that on average, a tobacco-user household spends nearly Rs. 2000 per month on tobacco, constituting 4% of the household budget. “Spending on tobacco can drive out other critical expenditures, including basic needs. This crowd-out effect would be significant for poor families, affecting not only the smoker but the rest of the family as well. Smoking, therefore, is not only unhealthy but costly,” says IPS Research Economist Priyanka Jayawardena.

“Although Sri Lanka has made progress over the years, in reducing the prevalence of tobacco use to 28.4% of males above 15 years, further action is needed to target the ‘Last Mile’ of tobacco users. In addition, tobacco users are at much higher risk of falling sick and dying prematurely due to tobacco-related disease. This can cause severe financial strains – pushing families into poverty,” Jayawardena explains.

The IPS study shows that reduction of tobacco products will have a positive rather than negative impact on the national income and reveals intra-household budget allocation is negatively affected by tobacco expenditures especially among the poor.

= Tobacco user households spend a greater share of their budget allocation for tobacco (4.0%) than education (3.2%) and health (2.7%) spending.

= Among the bottom 20%, tobacco user households spend less on basic necessities than same the economic group – non-tobacco using households.

= This suggests that if tobacco users were to stop smoking, they would spend more money on food, health and education. 

The study reveals a 20% reduction in tobacco expenditure will lead to 30% net benefit to the economy through increased consumption of non-tobacco goods and services. Thus the IPS study offers evidence that reduced tobacco consumption will yield net positive gains for Sri Lanka’s economy, as evidenced in other countries like Vietnam. 

IPS Research Economist Priyanka Jayawardena’s article on ‘Tobacco Economics: How reduced consumption benefits the household and the national economy’ is available at: ‘Talking Economics’, the blog of the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), Sri Lanka’s apex socio-economic policy think tank.

Link to blog: https://www.ips.lk/talkingeconomics/2020/11/05/tobacco-economics-how-reduced-consumption-benefits-the-household-and-the-national-economy/