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The association between tobacco use and perceptions of tobacco price strategies within primary care patients in rural Greece
 
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1
Department of Social Medicine, Clinic of Social and Family Medicine, University of Crete, Greece
 
2
Primary Care Setting of Siatista, Greece
 
 
Submission date: 2015-11-25
 
 
Final revision date: 2016-02-28
 
 
Acceptance date: 2016-03-09
 
 
Publication date: 2016-04-21
 
 
Corresponding author
Emmanouil Symvoulakis   

Department of Social Medicine, Clinic of Social and Family Medicine, University of Crete, Greece, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece, Greece
 
 
Tob. Prev. Cessation 2016;2(April):63
 
Editorial Note: A typesetting error was noted in the first version of the manuscript that was uploaded. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience that may have been caused.
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ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Tobacco use is a detrimental public health issue associated with a plethora of adverse health outcomes. The purpose of this report was to investigate the association between tobacco use and perceptions of tobacco price strategies to reduce consumption in a rural primary care setting in Northern Greece.

Material and Methods:
The study took place within a primary care setting, in Alonakia, in Northern Greece within a primary health care setting. Consecutive patients who were current smokers (n=121) with a routine appointment for any reason were invited to participate over a 6-week period, during the second semester of 2013.

Results:
The mean daily cigarette consumption was 20.2 ± 12.4 (range: 2-60) and their pack/year consumption was 31.8 ± 30.4 (range: 1-150 pack/years). Within the context of a regression analysis, the likelihood for patients who were smokers to positively respond that the cost of tobacco has an effect on their daily cigarette consumption was found to decrease by 3% for every cigarette smoked more per day and by 2% for every more pack/year. Furthermore, the likelihood for participants to report that they would quit smoking in case of a doubling in the price of tobacco products decreased by 5% for every cigarette smoked more per day.

Conclusions:
The above findings imply that the reduction in tobacco use in rural Greece, is complex and a population’s sensitivity should be enhanced through primary care initiatives that are adjusted between health promotion and counseling in conditions of socioeconomic distress.

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CITATIONS (1):
1.
Smoking cessation delivery by general practitioners in Crete, Greece
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European Journal of Public Health
 
eISSN:2459-3087
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