Impact of smoking on the income level of Chinese urban residents: a two-wave follow-up of the China Family Panel Study

OBJECTIVES: This study attempts to analyse the impact of smoking on the income level of Chinese urban residents to provide a reference for creating informed regulations on cigarette smoking. DESIGN: A population-based cohort study. METHOD: Two waves of panel data in 2014 and 2016 from the China Family Panel Study were used. A total of 8025 urban adults were identified. The Hausman–Taylor model was used to analyse the theoretical relationship between smoking and income. RESULTS: The percentage of current smokers decreased from 27.39% (2014) to 26.24% (2016), while the percentage of former smokers rose from 9.78% to 11.78%. The results from the Hausman–Taylor model showed that current smokers and former smokers are associated with statistically significant decrease in the income of urban residents of 37.70% and 44.00%, respectively, compared with that of non-smokers. After eliminating the impact of smoking on income, the poverty rate among urban residents decreased from 15.33% to 13.63%. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking can significantly reduce the income of Chinese urban residents, resulting in immense negative impacts on Chinese society. Therefore, the government should raise the tax rate on tobacco, include smoking cessation treatment in medical insurance coverage, promote publicity campaigns on the awareness of tobacco hazards and encourage smokers to quit smoking early.