Do changes in income, deprivation, labour force status and family status influence smoking behaviour over the short run? Panel study of 15 000 adults

Abstract

Background Improving social circumstances (eg, an increase in income, finding a job or moving into a good neighbourhood) may reduce tobacco use, but robust evidence on the effects of such improvements is scarce. Accordingly we investigated the link between changing social circumstances and changing tobacco smoking using repeated measures data.Methods 15 000 adults with at least two observations over three waves (each 2 years apart) of a panel study had data on smoking status, family, labour force, income and deprivation (both neighbourhood and individual). Fixed effects regression modelling was used.Findings The odds of smoking increased 1.42-fold (95% CI 1.16 to 1.74) for a one log-unit inc..