The rising price of cigarettes is driving an increased use of cannabis in older Australians.
New research from Curtin University, in Western Australia, found that over the course of almost 20 years from 2001, cannabis use increased among people aged over 50 when cigarette prices rose.
Study author Professor Mark Harris said the results were surprising because cannabis and tobacco were generally consumed as a bundle.
Professor Harris said the team did find when cigarette prices increased cannabis use decreased in Australians under 40 years of age, with no change for people aged between 40 and 50.
“However, cannabis use increased among people aged over 50 when cigarette prices rose,” he said.
“In economic terms, if they’re consumed together and it becomes more expensive to buy tobacco, you’d expect cannabis consumption to also fall.
“But what we’ve found is the relationships between the drugs, and the way people use them, potentially changes with the age of a consumer. Cannabis can change from a complement of tobacco, to a replacement.”
Professor Harris said as part of the study, which looked at the buying habits of 100,000 Australians. researchers ran a simulation of what would happen if tobacco prices rose by 10 percent through higher taxes or other means.
He said they found 68,000 people aged over 50 would start using cannabis in response, whether increasing existing cannabis use or opting to try cannabis for the first time as a tobacco substitute.
Co-study author Dr Ranjodh Singh said applying consumer behaviour research could help create effective health promotion strategies.
“In economics, we have this idea that people behave rationally, that we act according to price,” Dr Singh said.
“But different segments of the population will respond differently to price increases, that’s why we use the term ‘life cycle approach’ when looking at consumption.”
“So on average, increasing tobacco prices makes cannabis use go down — but the opposite is true for this particular age group.”
Read the full study: Cannabis and tobacco: substitutes and complements.
