摘要：We examined whether smokers who purchased low-taxed cigarettes from American Indian reservations had lower quit attempt and cessation rates than did smokers who purchased cigarettes from full-price outlets. Smokers who bought cigarettes from American Indian reservations were half as likely to make a quit attempt and had a nonsignificant trend toward lower cessation rates (20% vs 10%) compared with those who bought full-priced cigarettes. Interventions that reduce price differentials are suggested to maximize the public health benefit of cigarette excise taxes. When cigarette prices increase, some smokers try to quit smoking or reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke, 1 – 3 whereas others switch to cheaper brands or seek out less expensive outlets from which to purchase their cigarettes. 4 Since November 1999, more than 30 states have increased cigarette excise taxes 5 ; the New York State cigarette excise tax has increased by $0.94 to $1.50 per pack since March 2000. 6 Cigarettes sold on American Indian reservations in New York State do not include state cigarette excise or sales taxes. A recent population-based study by Hyland et al. 7 found that 67% of the smokers in the western New York State counties of Erie and Niagara reported that they usually purchased cigarettes on American Indian reservations, where the average price per pack is 40% of the price found in typical convenience stores. The entire population of Erie and Niagara counties resides within 30 miles of an American Indian reservation (Niagara County contains 2 American Indian reservations, and Erie County is within an hour’s drive of 4 American Indian reservations). Few studies have been conducted to determine whether the availability of less expensive cigarettes influences future indicators of smoking cessation. Data from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Survey found that quit rates were about 10% lower after 1 year among those who had purchased cigarettes from low-taxed or untaxed sources. 8 We aimed to test the hypothesis that smokers who usually bought their cigarettes from American Indian reservations had lower rates of making quit attempts and lower cessation rates than did smokers who usually bought their cigarettes from full-price outlets.
