Budget cigarettes linked to higher infant mortality rates in EU countries
Now, for the first time, researchers from Imperial College London have found an association between infant mortality rates and the differences in costs between higher and lower priced cigarettes. The authors say that eliminating budget cigarettes from the market may help to reduce infant deaths globally. Dr Filippos Filippidis, lead author from Imperial's School of Public Health, said: "Thanks to tax and price control measures, cigarettes in EU countries are more expensive than ever before. However, the tobacco industry is good at finding loopholes to ensure that budget cigarettes remain available. In this study, we found that the availability of budget cigarettes is associated with more infant deaths." The study, published today in the journal JAMA Pediatrics , analysed nearly 54 million births across 23 EU countries from 2004 to 2014. The researchers obtained data on cigarette prices over this period and examined whether differences between average priced and bud...