Jeffrey M. Drope

University of Illinois at Chicago | UIC

Mozambique ranks fifth on the list of tobacco producing countries in Africa, while also being a Party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Tobacco farming is regarded by some governments as a strategic economic commodity for export and remains deeply entrenched within Mozambique’s political and economic landscape. This study u...

Introduction Studies examining profit suggest that former tobacco farmers do as well or better than current tobacco farmers. Research has yet to examine the relationship among current and former tobacco farmers, poverty, and receipt of government social assistance. This type of research is critical to understanding the direct and indirect subsidiza...

Background Albania has one of the highest smoking prevalences in Europe and it is particularly high among the youth population. There is a dearth of evidence in Albania, most of Eastern Europe and most middle-income countries on the effect of price on smoking experimentation. Objective The study aimed to assess the effect of price and tobacco cont...

Purpose This paper examines the intrahousehold dynamics between women and men present in tobacco farming households in Mozambique. Attention to the experiences and realities of the smallholder farmers is crucial for understanding approaches to alternative livelihoods. Intrahousehold dynamics can provide important insights into how these households...

Objective To explore new evidence on illicit practices, such as selling legal brands below the minimum legal price (MLP), and smugglers selling illicit brands at or above the MLP. Methods For the first time in Brazil, self-reported information on cigarette brand name and price paid per pack in smokers’ last purchase from a nationally representativ...

Background In November 2021, the Tobacconomics team published the second edition of the Cigarette Tax Scorecard which evaluates cigarette taxation in each country based on four components—cigarette price, affordability change, tax share and tax structure. This study examines the relationship between the overall cigarette tax score and tobacco excis...

Background This study examines the association between the Tobacconomics cigarette tax scores and cigarette consumption in 97 countries during the period of 2014–2020. Methods Data on countries’ retail cigarette sales and overall cigarette tax scores from 2014 to 2020 are drawn from the proprietary Euromonitor International database and the Tobacc...

Background: Public health measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic have led to disruptions in daily life, such as job loss and changes in activity. The present study examines the relationship between pandemic-related life events and disuse (prolonged sitting coupled with inactivity) among adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 4084 adults...

This study examined the relation between cardiorespiratory fitness (fitness) and depression symptoms prior to and during COVID-19 among adults seeking preventive medical care. Participants consisted of 967 patients attending the Cooper Clinic (Dallas, TX) pre-pandemic (March 2018-December 2019) and during the pandemic (March-December 2020). The out...

The tobacco industry continues to present the illicit trade of tobacco products as a reason to slow, stop, or reverse tobacco control efforts in Latin America, including increasing tobacco excise taxes. In most cases, industry estimates of illicit trade, usually non-transparent and flawed, dwarf those of independent, rigorous research. Often, indep...

Background Paraguay is a major supplier of illicit cigarettes for the Latin American region and beyond. In July 2022, Paraguay ratified the FCTC Protocol. This is an opportunity and a challenge for neighboring countries to implement coordinated actions. This is the first analysis of the foreign trade data for cigarettes and their inputs using Parag...

In the past 2 decades, the demand for information on health economics research to guide health care decision making has substantially increased. Studies have provided evidence that eliminating or reducing tobacco use; eating a healthy diet, including fruit and vegetables; being physically active; reducing alcohol consumption; avoiding ultraviolet r...

Tobacco farming has emerged as an important concern for tobacco control advocates. Tobacco-growing countries face unique and important challenges to comprehensive, intersectoral tobacco control. These challenges stem from narratives that position tobacco as an important driver of economic growth and development, perpetuated by tobacco interests wit...

The tobacco epidemic remains the most preventable health threat of our time, with nearly eight million people dying annually from tobacco use (World Health Organization [WHO], 2019a). While governments continue to pursue tobacco control measures around the world, such efforts face strong opposition from tobacco interests (Bump & Reich, 2013). This...

Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, US unemployment rates rose to historic highs, and they remain nearly double those of prepandemic levels. Employers are the most common source of health insurance among nonelderly adults. Thus, job loss may lead to a loss of health insurance and reduce access to cancer screening. This study...

Tobacco taxation and price policies are considered the most effective for lowering demand for tobacco products. While this statement is based on research from numerous countries, scant evidence exists on this topic for Israel. Accordingly, we assessed the association between cigarette prices and smoking prevalence and intensity from a national samp...

Objective To describe the relationship between long-term weight loss (LTWL) success and lifestyle behaviours among US adults. Design Serial cross-sectional data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles 2007–2014. Setting and participants Population-based nationally representative sample. The analytic sample included 3040 adult...

Purpose The purpose of the study is to assess the differential impact of gender and cancer sites on mental burden across different types of cancer and control patients. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a primary survey undertaken in 2015–2016 of 600 cancer and 200 control patients across five hospitals of Nepal. The data was analy...

Despite adults’ desire to reduce body mass (weight) for numerous health benefits, few are able to successfully lose at least 5% of their starting weight. There is evidence on the independent associations of physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and sleep with weight loss; however, this study provided insight on the combined effects of these behav...

Background Alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for several cancer types, but there are no contemporary published estimates of the state-level burden of cancer attributed to alcoholic beverage consumption. Such estimates are needed to inform public policy and cancer control efforts. We estimated the proportion and number of incident ca...

Background Despite modest progress in reducing tobacco use, tobacco remains one of the major risk factors for non-communicable diseases in Bangladesh. Methods Using disease-specific, prevalence-based, cost-of-illness approach, this research estimated the economic costs of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke based on data collected from a...

Background: Emotional eating, the tendency to overeat in response to negative emotions, has been linked to weight gain. However, scant evidence exists examining the prevalence and correlates of emotional eating among large samples of adults in the United States (U.S.). Hence, we examine the relationship among individual and socioeconomic factors,...

Tobacco consumption remains a dire global health issue and the tobacco industry continues to find nefarious ways of keeping demand and consumption high. In the background lies the challenging, and often neglected, issue of tobacco growing and supply. Tobacco growing has proven to be a problematic practice due to its detrimental environmental impact...

PurposeThere are limited data on the burden of cancer attributable to cigarette smoking by metropolitan areas to inform local tobacco control policies in the USA. We estimated the proportion of cancer deaths attributable to cigarette smoking (or population attributable fraction [PAF]) in 152 U.S. metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas (MMSA...

Background: Tobacco growing has been considered a mainstay of Mozambique’s economy, but there is a dearth of analysis of the tobacco policy landscape in the country. Methods: Review of government and non-government documents and academic papers addressing Mozambique’s tobacco-growing history, the changes in the political economy of tobacco, and hea...

The extent of tobacco cultivation remains substantially high in Bangladesh, which is the 12th largest tobacco producer in the world. Using data from a household survey of current, former, and never tobacco farmers, based on a multi-stage stratified sampling design with a mix of purposive and random sampling of households, this study estimated the f...

Understanding the variables that affect farmers' decisions as to whether to grow tobacco and/or other crops provides important insights into their economic lives and can help to inform the development and implementation of policies that shape both tobacco production and tobacco control, such as increasing tobacco excise taxes. This study employs co...

Introduction Policies raising the minimum age of sale of tobacco products to 21 (T21) proliferated at state and local levels across the USA before a federal policy was adopted. Evidence of the effectiveness of these policies is building and lags implementation. This study exploits demographic patterns of cigarette brand purchasing to evaluate the e...

Objective To cross-validate estimates of the size of the illicit cigarette trade based on the results of four different survey methods. Methods In 2018/2019, four non-industry-funded, large-scale studies were conducted in selected Brazilian cities: packs discarded in household garbage/PDG (1 city), packs littered in the streets/PLS (5 cities), a p...

Introduction: The trends in e-cigarette prevalence and population count of users according to cigarette smoking histories are unknown. These data are needed to inform public health actions against a rapidly changing U.S. e-cigarette market. Methods: Data collected between 2014 and 2018 (analyzed in 2020) from cross-sectional, nationally represen...

Regulatory authorities have devoted increasing attention and resources to a range of issues surrounding the regulation of novel nicotine and tobacco products. This review highlights the inherent complexity of evaluating prospective policies that pertain to products that heat solutions containing nicotine but not tobacco leaf, sometimes referred to...

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate has sharply risen from 3.5% in February 2020 to 13.3% in May 2020, a level not seen since the Great Depression. There are an estimated 21.0 million unemployed adults in the United States. Employers are the most common source of health insurance among working-aged adults and their fam...

The authors have requested that this preprint be withdrawn due to erroneous posting.

Introduction: Tobacco product prices and consumers' income are the two major economic determinants of tobacco demand. The affordability of tobacco products is dependent on the price of tobacco products relative to consumer income. Increase in tobacco tax is expected to lead to higher price, lower affordability and reduce consumption. Price elastic...

Suggested Citation: Faruque, Golam Mohiuddin, Maruf Ahmed, Iftekharul Huq, Rehana Parven, Syed Naimul Wadood, Sohel Reza Chowdhury, AKM Ghulam Hussain, Gregg Haifley, Jeffrey M. Drope, Nigar Nargis (2020), "The Economic Cost of Tobacco Use in Bangladesh: A Health Cost Approach", Bangladesh Cancer Society (Dhaka, Bangladesh) (March 1, 2020). .......

Changing global markets have generated a dramatic shift in tobacco consumption from high-income countries (HICs) to low-and middle-income countries (LMICs); by 2030, more than 80% of the disease burden from tobacco use will fall on LMICs. Propelling this shift, opponents of tobacco control have successfully asserted that tobacco is essential to the...

An increasing number of studies provide evidence on the serious negative consequences of tobacco farming on economic livelihoods, human health and the environment. There is, however, only limited research on tobacco farming in Bangladesh, a significant producer of tobacco leaf. It is not yet well understood why many farmers choose to grow tobacco c...

Tobacco is the primary export commodity in Malawi and an important contributor to foreign earnings. The entrenchment of tobacco interests within government has partly explained why Malawi has lagged in its efforts to address the health consequences of tobacco and has been a vocal opponent of global tobacco control. Despite the extensive historical...

Background Recent research in several countries has demonstrated that small-holder tobacco farming is typically not a profitable enterprise. Many farming households report losing money in this economic endeavour, even without incorporating the value of their household labour. Losses are typically considerably worse when household labour is consider...

Objectives. To describe the evolution of flavored e-cigarette sales since the expansion of the JUUL brand, and to describe the effect of JUUL’s November 2018 decision to self-regulate the flavors it sold in stores on flavored e-cigarette sales. Methods. We used Scantrack data on sales of e-cigarettes in the United States from January 2015 to Octobe...

The threat of tobacco tax evasion and avoidance is the most commonly mentioned argument against tax hikes. Increasingly, the focus of legislators is on leaks in the tobacco crop supply chain, in which raw or cured tobacco that was never taxed finds its way to smokers. To study the process undertaken by Poland to secure the tobacco supply chain, we...

Tobacco is a key cash crop for many farmers in Kenya, although there is a variety of challenges associated with tobacco production. This study seeks to understand alternatives to tobacco production from the perspective of government officials, extension officers, and farmers at the sub-national level (Migori, Busia, and Meru) in Kenya. The study an...

Objective To compare two methods to estimate the magnitude of the illicit cigarette trade in Mexico and to contrast these results with tobacco industry figures. Methods We used two survey methods: a smoker survey and a discarded pack survey. Data were collected in eight major cities in Mexico between November and December 2017. A total of 2396 fac...

Rising trends in the incidence of cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) add to the existing challenges with communicable and noncommunicable diseases. While breast and colorectal cancer incidence rates are increasing in LMICs, the incidence of cervical cancer shows a mixed trend, with rising incidence rates in China and sub-Saharan Afr...

Unhealthy foods and tobacco remain the leading causes of non-communicable disease (NCDs). These are key agricultural commodities for many countries, and NCD prevention policy needs to consider how to influence production towards healthier options. There has been little scholarship to bridge the agriculture with the public health literature that see...

An increasing number of studies provide evidence on the serious negative consequences of tobacco farming on economic livelihoods, human health and the environment. There is, however, only limited research on tobacco farming in Bangladesh, a significant producer of tobacco leaf. It is not yet well understood why many farmers choose to grow tobacco c...

This article describes how states which have committed to the right to health in international human rights law are obligated to take measures to respect and fulfill this right for their citizens, including measures to protect against the harm to health caused by tobacco. It also reaffirms the duality of both international trade and investment law,...

Background: Many individuals aspire to attain various goals in life, such as committing to a healthful diet to slim down or saving for retirement to enhance future welfare. While these behaviors (weight loss and saving) share the common denominator of self-regulation, it is unclear whether success in one domain is related to the other. Therefore,...

Purpose The objective of this article is to examine the factors associated with smoking of flavor capsule cigarettes in Chile, where the popularity of these products has increased dramatically, a trend increasingly observed across the world. Methods A representative poll of 851 smokers in Metropolitan Santiago de Chile, which comprises 40% of the...

Introduction: Tobacco production continues to increase in low- and middle-income countries creating complications for tobacco control efforts. There is the need to understand and address the global tobacco leaf supply as a means of decreasing tobacco consumption and improving farmers livelihoods in line with Article 17 of the WHO Framework Convent...

Zambia, a tobacco-growing country, provides manufacturing incentives to attract foreign and domestic investment. In an earlier study, we cautioned that these incentives could lead to local tobacco manufacturing, undermining its domestic tobacco control efforts. In 2018, as part of our continuing research program, we conducted key informant intervie...

The paper “Consequences of policy incoherence: how Zambia’s post-FCTC investment policy stimulated tobacco production” was published without including the acknowledgements:

Background: Population growth in the African region is set to outpace the rate of decline in smoking prevalence, leading to a projected increase in the total number of smokers. As most tobacco users initiate during their adolescent years, tobacco prevention strategies targeting youth will be particularly important. Methods: This study estimated the...

Introduction Some low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) struggle to implement smoke-free policies. We sought to review the academic and gray literature, and propose a research agenda to improve implementation of smoke-free policies and make them more effective in LMICs. Methods We reviewed 10 databases for variations of (‘implementation’ /‘enfo...

Tobacco supply remains a pressing challenge to tobacco control. Tobacco remains a dominant cash crop in many low-and middle-income countries, despite the evidence suggesting that it is not as profitable as industry claims and is harmful to health and the environment. In order to implement successful and sustainable alternative livelihood interventi...

Background Philip Morris International, one of the largest transnational cigarette manufacturers, has heavily invested in its new heated tobacco product, IQOS, marketing it aggressively as a less harmful alternative to cigarette smoking. The company’s assertions that the product replaces cigarettes in a market have never been independently tested....

Introduction: The narrative of prosperous economic livelihood of tobacco farmers in Kenya as alleged by the tobacco industry deserves challenge as evidence increasingly suggests that smallholder tobacco farmers are making little or no profits. Article 17 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) encourages...

Tobacco is a product that when used as suggested by the manufacturers it will kill more than half its users. Reducing tobacco use should therefore be a cornerstone of any government’s public health strategy. Yet tobacco control measure consistently face enormous opposition, often from opponents using arguments with a supposed economic logic. Our co...

Objective To estimate with a rigorous statistical methodology and independent from the tobacco industry the prevalence and consumption of illicit cigarettes in Metropolitan Santiago de Chile, in addition to identifying the variables statistically associated with choosing to smoke illicit cigarettes. Methods Surveys of 851 smokers who reside in the...

Background: In 2009, Canada adopted legislation (Bill C-32) restricting the sale of flavoured tobacco products, one of the first in the world. This study examines the agenda-setting process leading to the adoption of Bill C-32. Methods: This research was conducted using a case study design informed by Kingdon’s Multiple Streams framework and Heclo’...

In the United States, it is estimated that more than 1.7 million people will be diagnosed with cancer, and more than 600,000 will die of the disease in 2018. The financial costs associated with cancer risk factors and cancer care are enormous. To substantially reduce both the number of individuals diagnosed with and dying from cancer and the costs...

Background The tobacco industry has used the alleged negative impacts on economic livelihoods for tobacco farmers as a narrative to oppose tobacco control measures in low/middle-income countries. However, rigorous empirical evidence to support or refute this claim remains scarce. Accordingly, we assess how much money households earn from selling to...

International and cross-cultural research is critical for understanding multilevel influences on health, health behaviors, and disease. A particularly relevant area of need for such research is tobacco control. The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats globally, killing over 7 million people a year. Research critical to addre...

Introduction Every year, more than 6,000 Kenyans die of tobacco related diseases (79 men and 37 women die per week), while more than 220,000 children and more than 2,737,000 adults continue to use tobacco each day. Some suggest that these numbers will rise without concerted efforts to strengthen the implementation of tobacco control measures. To da...

This commentary aims to inform future efforts to strengthen the capacity to conduct policy-relevant tobacco research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Specifically, this article distills key reflections on experiences from those engaged in policy-relevant tobacco research capacity building across LMICs who presented during a workshop at...

This report summarizes key findings and policy lessons from the Indonesia Tobacco Employment Studies, conducted by the World Bank and American Cancer Society. The paper clarifies relationships between tobacco tax increases and employment in Indonesia’s tobacco sector. It places this analysis in the context of current knowledge on linkages between t...

Background The price of tobacco products in relation to the income of tobacco users—affordability—is recognised as a key determinant of tobacco use behaviour. The effectiveness of a price increase as a deterrent to tobacco use depends on how much price increases in relation to the income of the potential users. The aim of this paper is to examine t...

Background In Zambia, the number of cigarette users is growing, and the lack of strong tax policies is likely an important cause. When adjusted for inflation, levels of tobacco tax have not changed since 2007. Moreover, roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco, a less-costly alternative to factory-made (FM) cigarettes, is highly prevalent. Data and methods We...

Background Very little is known about the prices of new non-combustible tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes. Moreover, because of this paucity of data, it is difficult to evaluate the cost for individuals to use e-cigarettes and similar products relative to combustible tobacco products. As governments consider economic policies such as t...

Background Prosperous economic livelihood described by industry is hallucination in Kenya, smallholder tobacco farmers are making small or no profits [1-4]. World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) Article 17 encourages viable alternative livelihoods for tobacco farmers. However, little evidence on how tobacco fa...

Tobacco control norms have gained momentum over the past decade. To date 43 of 47 Sub-Saharan African countries are party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The near universal adoption of the FCTC illustrates the increasing strength of these norms, although the level of commitment to implement the provisions varies widely. Howev...

The continuing high prevalence of cigarette smoking among specific subpopulations, many of them vulnerable, is one of the most pressing challenges facing the tobacco control community. These populations include individuals in lower education and/or socioeconomic groups; from certain racial/ethnic groups; in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgend...

Background: Tobacco production is said to be an important contributor to Zambia's economy in terms of labour and revenue generation. In light of Zambia's obligations under the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) we examined the institutional actors in Zambia's tobacco sector to better understand their roles and determine the institu...

Tobacco control norms have gained momentum over the past decade. To date 43 of 47 Sub-Saharan African countries are party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The near universal adoption of the FCTC illustrates the increasing strength of these norms, although the level of commitment to implement the provisions varies widely. Howev...

Previous research has found that impatient time preferences and self-control problems (present bias) are related to increased obesity risk. However, scant evidence exists pertaining to whether parents’ impatience and self-control problems impact the obesity status of their children, too. Accordingly, we explore this study question among a large nat...

Background In principle, trade and investment agreements are meant to boost economic growth. However, the removal of trade barriers and the provision of investment incentives to attract foreign direct investments may facilitate increased trade in and/or more efficient production of commodities considered harmful to health such as tobacco. We analyz...

Resumo: Com base nos resultados de dezenas de entrevistas com atores-chave envolvidos na formulação de políticas de controle do tabaco, examinamos as percepções desses atores em relação a ameaças ao controle do tabaco provenientes de políticas econômicas internacionais (comerciais e de investimento). Adotando uma perspectiva jurídica, avaliamos tam...