Abstract
Smoking is one of the main factors that causes various diseases. The objective of the present study is to investigate factors determining smoking behaviour among adults. The present study used instrumental variable (IV) regressions to estimate the effects of demographic and knowledge factors on participation decision and amount decision of smoking. Nationally representative data of a developing country (Malaysia) was used. Contrary to popular belief, knowledge was found to be positively associated with the propensity to smoke, as well as the amount of smoking. Age, gender, wealth index, educational level, ethnicity, marital status and house locality were significantly associated with smoking. Males were more likely to smoke and smoked more than females. Educational level reduced the likelihood and amount of smoking. Malays and married individuals were less likely to smoke than non-Malays and unmarried individuals. Urban dwellers smoked more cigarette relative to rural dwellers. In terms of policy implication, it is suggested that intervention measures directed toward reducing the prevalence of smoking should not pay too much attention to improving the knowledge of health effects of smoking among Malaysian adults. Anti-smoking policies must be designed carefully by taking into account of the demographic factors which are correlated with the likelihood and amount of smoking. The present study is the first of its kind that includes knowledge as a separate variable for analyses and uses IV regressions to analyse participation decision and amount decision of smoking.
Highlights
Smoking is a serious public health issue worldwide, accounting for approximately 5 million mortalities annually (World Health Organization, 2015)
The objective of the present study is to investigate factors affecting smoking in Malaysia, a fast-growing developing country, in a more in-depth manner
The present study argues that individuals who have better knowledge of smoking tend to anticipate higher costs of cigarettes than those who have poorer knowledge
Summary
Smoking is a serious public health issue worldwide, accounting for approximately 5 million mortalities annually (World Health Organization, 2015). The majority of smoking-induced mortalities occur in developing countries, causing these countries to face a large smoking related disease burden (World Health Organization, 2015). This burden includes the deprivation of smokers’ income, rapid rise in health care cost and deterioration in economic performance. In terms of economic costs, at least Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 4 billion is spent on treating smoking related diseases annually (Tan et al, 2009). The outcome of this campaign was not very impactful
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