Club Convergence in Cigarette Consumption and Health Policies in Pre-Pandemic Period

Abstract

Aim: Turkey introduced price and non-price measures in recent years to reduce smoking. The government banned smoking in all enclosed workplaces and public places. Then, they extended the ban to include all restaurants, cafeterias, and the hospitality sector in 2009 and increased the Special Consumption Tax dramatically on tobacco products by 20 percent in 2010. This study aims to examine regional disparities in cigarette consumption across Turkish cities employing provincial-level data by utilizing a club convergence test. Material and Methods: We report some descriptive results for the smoking trend for sub-regions of Turkey. Then, we explore regional disparities in smoking across Turkish provinces, employing monthly provincial-level data, through a club convergence test in pre-pandemic period, 2009-2017. Results: Our results suggest that the initial effects of the anti-tobacco policies resulted in a substantial decline in smoking. It seems that distinct regions behave differently to the policy changes in a way that some areas reduce their cigarette consumption considerably while some regions did not. Club convergence test results demonstrate that it is not proper to conduct a common tobacco control policy in Turkey since there is more than one convergence club in the analyses. Conclusion: We encourage authorities to decentralize power by including local agencies and municipalities in enforcing the anti-tobacco law. We urge authorities to take different policy measures for different regions. Besides, from a pandemic perspective, one can argue that the regional disparities in cigarette consumption is also a signal for the need of diversified health policies across regions in Turkey.