Washington, July 14: A new study has found that raising taxes on cigarettes, a public health measure used by governments to encourage people to quit, doesn't persuade all smokers to stop the deadly habit.

The study on the long-term impact of taxing cigarettes, led by two Concordia University economists, found higher taxes do prompt low-and middle-income earners to quit.

Yet price increases don't persuade wealthier smokers or those aged 25 to 44 to quit.

"Contrary to most studies, we find that the middle-aged group, which constitutes the largest fraction of smokers in our sample, is largely unresponsive to taxes," first author Sunday Azagba, a PhD candidate in the Concordia Department of Economics, said.

"While cigarette taxes remain popular with policy-makers as a key anti-smoking measure, their effectiveness largely depends on how people respond to them," he stated.

The research team analysed three categories of daily smokers: People aged 12 to 24, 25 to 44 and 45 to 65.

"Overall, it was smokers from lower socio-economic groups who are more price-responsive than those from higher socio-economic groups," expressed co-author Mesbah Sharaf, a PhD candidate in the Concordia Department of Economics.

"If there is a 10 percent increase in taxes then smoking participation will fall by about 2.3 percent," he said.

The study was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. (ANI)