Smoking Inequality Trends by Disability and Income in Australia, 2001 to 2020

Abstract

Background: While policies to reduce smoking in many countries have been successful, disadvantaged groups (such as low-income groups) have only seen minor gains. People with disability are one such disadvantaged group and are more likely to smoke. However, evidence is limited on trends and inequalities in smoking for disabled people and on whether those also on low incomes are more likely to smoke. Methods: We use annual data from 2001 to 2020 of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. We use a Bayesian model to estimate smoking prevalence trends and inequalities for people with disability (2020, n = 1,370) and without disability (2020, n = 6,229) across the whole popul..