6.6 The association between addiction and socioeconomic status
Show / hide chapter menu
It is well-established that lower socioeconomic status (SES) correlates with higher smoking prevalence in developed countries.42-45 A growing body of international research strongly suggests that levels of addiction are also greater among groups of lower SES.46, 47 Recent research published from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Survey (ITCPES) has compared nicotine dependence across Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America.47 This study showed that in all four countries, smokers of lower SES were more likely to demonstrate a higher level of nicotine dependence. Being male and older were also factors that were associated with stronger dependency.
These findings are consistent with other research that has linked social disadvantage with higher levels of stress, from which smokers commonly claim that tobacco use provides relief; thus lower SES reinforces tobacco use and dependency—see Chapter 9. The ITCPES study also found that smokers with lower levels of education were more likely to have lower levels of self-efficacy than more highly educated smokers, and were also more likely to have no intention of quitting. These findings have important implications for cessation programs and are discussed further in Chapters 7 and 9 .
Copyright © 2012 The Cancer Council. All rights reserved.