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BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

Assessing contraband tobacco in two jurisdictions: a direct collection of cigarette butts

Authors: Julie Stratton, Samantha Shiplo, Megan Ward, Alexey Babayan, Adam Stevens, Sarah Edwards

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

The sale of contraband tobacco allows for tobacco tax evasion, which can undermine the effectiveness of tobacco tax policies in reducing the number of smokers. Estimates of the proportion of contraband vary widely as do the methods used to measure the proportion of contraband being smoked. The purpose of this study is to determine the proportion of contraband use in two different jurisdictions.

Methods

A cross-sectional direct collection of cigarette butts was conducted in Peel and Brantford, Ontario, Canada in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Cigarette butts were collected from a variety of locations within both regions. Cigarette butts were assessed and classified into one of the following categories: contraband, legal Canadian, legal Native, International, unknown, and discards.

Results

The overall proportion of contraband cigarettes in Peel was 5.3 %, ranging from 2.8 to 8.6 % by location. In Brantford, the proportion of contraband was 33.0 %, with a range from 32.8 to 33.1 % by location.

Conclusions

The direct collection of cigarette butts was determined to be a feasible method for a local public health unit in determining the proportion of contraband cigarettes. This approach showed that Brantford has a higher proportion of contraband consumption compared to Peel, which may be due to geographic location and proximity to the United States (US)-Canada border and Native Reserves. More research is needed to confirm this geographic association with other jurisdictions.
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Metadata
Title
Assessing contraband tobacco in two jurisdictions: a direct collection of cigarette butts
Authors
Julie Stratton
Samantha Shiplo
Megan Ward
Alexey Babayan
Adam Stevens
Sarah Edwards
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3229-0

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