ArticleTobacco regulatory science2019
Mind the Gap: Changes in Cigarette Prices After California's Tax Increase.
Article in Tobacco regulatory science, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Tobacco industry pricing strategies in response to excise tax policies: a systematic review.Tobacco control · 2023Pooled it
- Association of a major tobacco tax increase in California with increased smoking cessation.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2025Article
- Impacts of Tax and Flavor Tobacco Policies on San Francisco Bay Area Tobacco Prices.Evaluation review · 2023Article
- Follow the money: a closer look at US tobacco industry marketing expenditures.Tobacco control · 2023Article
- Trends in Cigarette Marketing Expenditures, 1975-2019: An Analysis of Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Reports.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2022Article
- The Impact of Recent Tobacco Regulations and COVID-19 Restrictions and Implications for Future E-Cigarette Retail: Perspectives from Vape and Vape-and-Smoke Shop Merchants.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Popularity of natural American Spirit cigarettes is greater in U.S. cities with lower smoking prevalence.Addictive behaviors · 2020Article
- Cigarette Pack Prices and Sales Following Policy Changes in California, 2011-2018.American journal of public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate whether California's 2017 cigarette tax increase was passed onto smokers equally.
methodsAuditors recorded 4 cigarette prices in the same random sample of licensed tobacco retailers (N = 1049) before the tax increase (January-March 2017) and after (April-September 2018): Natural American Spirit (ultra-premium), Newport menthol (premium), and Pall Mall (value) all from the same manufacturer, and Marlboro (premium). Ordinary least squares regressions examined how the gap in prices (increase greater or less than $2.00 tax) varied by market segment and neighborhood demographics, controlling for store type and months since implementation. Paired t-tests assessed whether industry/retail revenue (price in excess of state and federal excise taxes) increased.
resultsOver-shifting (increase greater than tax) was evident for all 4 brands and was significantly greater for ultra-premium (Mean = $0.40, SD = 0.75) than premium (Mean = $0.25, SD = 0.78) and greater for premium than value brand (Mean = $0.16, SD = 0.67). However, under-shifting (increase less than tax) was evident for Newport in African-American neighborhoods and Pall Mall in Hispanic neighborhoods. After the tax increase, prices were significantly more likely to be discounted and significantly more stores advertised a discount on cigarettes.
conclusionCalifornia's tax increase was not passed onto consumers equally. Non-tax mechanisms to increase price could support intended effects of tobacco taxes.
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Registered trials
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