ABSTRACT
Tobacco is reported to be the second major cause of death in the world. From 1970 to 1995, the World Health Assembly unanimously adopted 14 resolutions to control tobacco consumption. Most of the research that has been conducted on tobacco has focused on developed countries, with the preponderance of analysis based on data from the USA. Demographics are an important aspect to be considered in determining the consumer behavior with regard to tobacco products. Gender, age, ethnicity, religious background and education can have an impact on smoking behavior. For the overall adult population, smoking prevalence was nearly cut in half, falling from 42 percent in 1965 to around 20 percent by 2004. A comparison of price and non-price measures is not only important for policy purposes, but it also has implications for assessing the merits of the extant literature on the effectiveness of tobacco control policies.
