The Higher Price of Cigarettes and Students’ Intention to Stop
Smoking
Sri Widati, Siti Aifatus Solekhah
Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Mulyorejo, Surabaya, Indonesia
Keywords: Cigarettes, Rising price, Intention to stop smoking.
Abstract: The price of cigarettes in Indonesia is one of the lowest in ASEAN. The low price of cigarettes has been
one of the triggering factors for the increase in the number of active smokers. We have proposed to raise
the price in an effort to reduce smoking behavior. The purpose of this research is to see the effect of
increasing cigarettes prices to stop smoking intention. This research is analytical and quantitative. Data
collection was done by primary technique through 110 chosen respondents. The instrument for this
research was questionnaire. This study was done in the Management Major of Economy and Business
Faculty of Airlangga University. The result showed that variable of allowance had strong effect for
respondents’ smoking behavior. There was no relationship between the rising price of cigarettes and the
respondents’ intention to stop smoking. Respondents felt that they would buy cigarettes even at the higher
price. Respondent also felt comfortable with their smoking behaviour and that it had become a habit to do
so.
1 INTRODUCTION
According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), there are six million deaths each year
caused by cigarettes and there are 600,000 passive
smokers who die because of exposure to second
hand smoke. In 2030, WHO predicted that there will
be eight million deaths from cigarettes every year
80% of which will occur in poor and developing
countries (WHO, 2011). Most people first smoked in
their teen years (Salim, 2013). WHO recommends
increasing the price of cigarettes in order to reduce
the number of smokers. The highest price of
cigarettes in the world is in Europe, while the lowest
price is in the Middle East region. The following
table shows the price of cigarettes in ASEAN:
Table 1: Average Prices of Cigarettes in ASEAN
No
Country
Price of a pack of cigarettes
(IUSD=9.115 Rupiah, February
2012)
1
Singapura
USD 8,3 / ± Rp75.000
2
Brunei
Darussalam
USD 5.9 / ± Rp54.000
3
Malaysia
USD 3,32 / ± Rp30.000
No
Country
Price of a pack of cigarettes
(IUSD=9.115 Rupiah, February
2012)
4
Thailand
USD 2,36 / ± Rp22.000
5
Laos
USD 1.46 / ± Rp13.000
6
Indonesia
USD 1.24 / ± Rp11.000
7
Kamboja
USD 1.19 / ± Rp11.000
8
Vietnam
USD 0.74 / ± Rp7.000
9
Filipina
USD 0.63 / ± Rp6.000
Source: ASEAN Tobacco Tax Report Card, Regional
Comparison and Trends, February 2012
One of the government efforts to reduce the
number of active smokers is to increase cigarette
taxes and legislation. In fact, Indonesia has not
focused on reducing the number of smokers. This is
due to the lack of strong regulations related to
cigarettes. In addition, cigarette tax is one of the
state's efforts in increasing and filling the state
treasury. In Indonesia, cigarettess tax is very low
and the price of cigarettess too. That’s why a
number of smoker tend to raise every year.
Especially, smoker teenager feel that they can buy
the cigarettess and feel free to consume it. In ten
years, smoker teenager tend to raise.
342
Widati, S. and Solekhah, S.
The Higher Price of Cigarettes and Students’ Intention to Stop Smoking.
In Proceedings of the 4th Annual Meeting of the Indonesian Health Economics Association (INAHEA 2017), pages 342-346
ISBN: 978-989-758-335-3
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

27,2
31,8
34,2
34,7
36
0
10
20
30
40
1995
2001
2007
2010
2013
Figure 1: Number of Smokers in Indonesia
Based on Figure 1, it is known that the number
of smokers in Indonesia has increased every year.
Based on data by Global Youth Tobacco Survey
(GYTS), 2,074 respondents of Indonesian students
aged 15-20 years showed that 43.9 percent of boys
ever smoked. The increased prevalence of smoking
in adolescents in Indonesia has caused a seriously
cigarettes problem (Tulakom and Bonet, 2003) .
According to Basic Health Research
(Departemen Kesehatan RI,2013), the highest active
smokers in the 30-34 age group was 33.4%. The
number of active smokers at age 20-24 also has a
high number of 27.2%. The highest proportion of
daily smokers occurs in men by 47.5%. The
cigarette market has a large number of consumer in
this country. Even the economic crisis c in Indonesia
has not decreased cigarette consumption, rather, it is
increasing (Aan, 2001).
The discussion on raising cigarette prices to
Rp50.000 has become a current issue in Indonesia.
This is based on the results of Thabrany’s (2016)
study which found that 72% of 1,000 respondents
said they would stop smoking if the price of
cigarettes went up to Rp50,000. Thabrany (2016)
recommends increasing the price of cigarettes in
Indonesia in order to prevent young people from
smoking. Not everyone agrees about increasing
cigarette prices, especially the cigarette industry
(Martiany, 2016). The increase in cigarette prices is
considered to reduce morbidity and reduce the
amount of cigarette consumption. The increase in
cigarette prices is expected to make smokers stop
smoking
2 METHODS
This research is analytical quantitative. Data
collection was done by primary technique through
110 chosen respondents. All of respondents are
smokers. The instrument for this research was
questionnaire. Data analysis was done by multiple
logistic regression test. This study was done in the
Management Major of Economy and Business
Faculty of Airlangga University through January-
June 2017.
3 RESULTS
Table 2: Distribution of Respondents at Airlangga
University of Management Program, 2017
F
%
Allowance
Low <Rp500.000
17
15.5
Middle Rp500.000-
Rp1.000.000
48
43.6
High >Rp1.000.000
45
40.9
Length of Consumption of Cigarettes
<1 Year
10
9.1
1-4 Year
45
40.9
>4 Year
55
50.0
Attitude
Good
77
70.0
Not Good
33
30.0
Behavior Control
Good
5
4.5
Not Good
105
95.5
Total Respondents
110
100
Table 2 shows that more than 80% of
respondents have an allowance of more than
Rp500,000. Which means they have no difficulty in
purchasing cigarettes. Teenager tend to buy the
cigarettes and easy to consume it. The price of
cigarettes only Rp 10.000/pack (it is about US$1).
Almost all respondents stated that they had been
smoking for more than one year. The longest was
more than four years with 50.0% of respondents.
This means they were smoking before they studied
at Airlangga University. They still do smoking in
Airlangga University and tend to smoke in the
campus area.
Mostly, respondents had a good attitude about
the benefits if they stopped smoking. But, although
they have a good attitude, they are still smoking.
This is happening because of addcition.
Only 4.5% of respondents had good behavior
control. This could be the biggest problem in getting
them to stop smoking cigarettes. Behavior control in
this research means their perception about the
availability of cigarettes and the increase in their
price.
The Higher Price of Cigarettes and Students’ Intention to Stop Smoking
343

Table 3: Cross-tabulation Between Allowance and
Attitudes Against Smoking Habit Behavior Among
Respondents in Prodi Management University of
Airlngga Surabaya, 2017
Allowance
Attitude
Total
Not Good
Good
N
%
N
%
N
%
Low
<Rp500.000
13
76.5
4
23.5
17
100
Middle
Rp500.000-
Rp1.000.000
38
79.2
10
20.8
48
100
High
>Rp1.000.000
26
57.8
19
42.2
45
100
Total
77
70.0
33
30.0
110
100
Table 3 shows that respondents with a low
allowance tend to have a bad attitude. Respondents
with middle and high category of allowance are able
to budget well for essential needs and still buy
cigarettes.
Table 4: Cross-tabulation Between the Period of
Consumption of Cigarettes with Attitudes Against
Smoking Habit Behavior Among Respondents in Prodi
Management Airlangga University Surabaya, 2017.
Length of
consumptio
n of
Cigarettes
Attitude
Total
Not Good
Good
F
%
F
%
F
%
<1 Year
7
70.0
3
30.0
10
100
1-4 Year
32
71.1
13
28.9
45
100
>4 Year
38
69.1
17
30.9
55
100
Total
77
70.0
33
30.0
110
100
Almost all respondents, more than 69%, have a
bad attitude about cigarettes’ impact.
Table 5: Cross -tabulation Between Allowance and
Smoking Behavior Control Among Respondents in
Airlangga University Management Program, 2017.
Allowance
Behavior Control
Total
Not Good
Good
N
%
N
%
N
%
Low <Rp
500.000
1
5.9
16
94.1
17
100
Middle
Rp500.000-
Rp1.000.000
1
2.1
47
97.9
48
100
High
>Rp1.000.000
3
6.7
42
93.3
45
100
Total
5
4.5
105
95.5
110
100
Table 5 shows respondents who have money tend to
have poor behavioral control.
Table 6: Cross-tabulation of Period of Cigarettes
Consumption and Behavior Control Among Respondents
in Airlangga University Management Program, 2017
Length of
Consumptio
n of
Cigarettes
Behavior Control
Total
Not Good
Good
N
%
N
%
N
%
<1 Year
1
10
9
90
10
100
1-4 Years
2
4.4
43
95.6
45
100
>4 Years
2
3.6
53
96.4
55
100
Total
5
4.5
105
95.5
110
100
Table 6 shows that respondents who have a long
period of cigarette consumption tend not to have
good control behavior. They find difficulties when
they want to stop smoking.
Table 7: Cross-tabulation of Attitude and Intention to Stop
Smoking Among Respondents in Airlangga University
Management Program, 2017
Attitude
Intention to Stop
Smoking
Total
No
Yes
F
%
F
%
F
%
Not Good
25
32.5
52
67.5
77
100
Good
22
66.7
11
33.3
33
100
Total
47
42.7
63
57.3
110
100
Table 7 shows that respondents who have good
attitude tend to have an intention to stop smoking.
However, respondents who do not have a good
attitude tend to not have intention to stop smoking.
This is compatible with theory that people who have
good attitude tend to have good behavior. This study
confirm this theory.
Table 8: Cross-tabulation Between Behavior Control with
Intention to Stop Smoking Among Respondents in
Airlangga University Management Program, 2017
Behavior
Control
Intention to Stop
Smoking
Total
No
Yes
N
%
N
%
N
%
Good
1
20.0
4
80.0
5
100
Not Good
46
43.8
59
56.2
105
100
Total
47
42.7
63
57.3
110
100
Table 8 shows that the majority of respondents
have good behavior control to intend to stop
INAHEA 2017 - 4th Annual Meeting of the Indonesian Health Economics Association
344

smoking. The result of logistic regression analysis
shows that the variable that influences the attitude is
the variable of allowance. It can be seen from the
result of significance, which is 0.028, which is
smaller than α (0.05). The variable of length of
cigarette consumption has no effect on attitude and
behavior control. This can be seen from the results
of significance greater than α (0.05). From the result
of logistic regression analysis there is influence of
attitude variable to the intention to stop smoking and
there is no influence between the behavior control
variable with the intention to stop smoking. It can be
seen that the significance value of attitude variable is
smaller than α (0.05). These variables are further
influenced in the possibility of respondents who
have the intention to stop smoking. Variables that
have no effect on the intention to stop smoking are
behavior control variables. These variables have a
significance value greater than α (0.05). Regression
model was obtained based on the calculation of
probability value of behavior to quit smoking among
the respondents who have good attitude of 0.676
rather than respondents who have bad attitude
4 DISCUSSION
This study states that the allowances earned by the
respondents are in enough categories to meet the
needs for one month, including the need to buy
cigarettes. In accordance with research conducted by
Maharani (2014)
9
that there is a strong relationship
between the amount of allowance to smoking
behavior. The relationship shows the direction of the
positive relationship. This states that the higher the
amount of allowance, the greater the increase in the
smoking behavior in adolescents. Respondents who
smoked felt that they were still able to buy
cigarettes.
This suggests that the allowance variable can
show a well-behaved behavior. Cigarette
consumption does not affect the attitude and
behavior control. The variable of length of cigarette
consumption is the time from the respondent first
consuming cigarettes until now. Most of the
respondents in this study had consumed cigarettes
for more than four years. This suggests that the
variables of length of cigarette consumption have
not been able to determine the extent of the ability to
control attitude and behavior control to intend to quit
smoking.
The analysis was conducted to determine the
effect of attitudes and the behavior control on the
intention to stop smoking. The results showed that
not all variables have an effect on the intention to
stop smoking. The result shows that attitude variable
significantly influences intention to stop smoking.
The B value for the attitude variable is 1.426, and
states the probability of behavior to quit smoking in
the respondents who possess it. Amounting to 1,426,
this shows a probability of behavior to quit smoking
in respondents who have a good attitude of 0.676 as
opposed to respondents who have a bad attitude.
Attitudes towards behavior are considered as major
factors that can affect a person's behavior. Attitude is
determined by individual beliefs about the
consequences of a behavior.
This result is different from the research
conducted by Prof Habullah Thabrany. In the results
of his research, he mentioned that 72.3% of smokers
agreed that the price of cigarettes at Rp50.000 / pack
or more would make smokers quit smoking. In this
study, the majority of respondents said that if the
price of cigarettes increased they would still not stop
smoking. This is because the respondents felt that
they were addicted to smoking behavior. In this
case, the respondents also said that they preferred to
reduce the number of cigarettes they consumed than
to stop smoking. Almost all respondents stated that
they preferred not to eat rather than not having to
smoke for a day. Raising the prices of cigarettes is
not considered a matter that needs to be regretted for
cigarette consumers. Respondents said that no matter
how expensive their cigarettes were, they could still
afford them. This can be seen from the low price of
cigarettes in Indonesia where the average price per
pack is Rp11.000
5 CONCLUSION
The respondents consisted of 110 active smokers
among students of Airlangga University
Management Program. Most of the respondents
came from the students of 2013. The majority of the
respondents’ allowance was between Rp500.000-
Rp1.000.000 each month. The majority of
respondents had been consuming cigarettes for more
than four years. The increase of cigarette prices will
not affect the intention to stop smoking among the
respondents in the Airlangga University
Management Program. The allowance affects
attitudes, but the variables of length of cigarette
consumption do not affect attitude and behavior
control. The attitude variable influences the
respondents’ intention to stop smoking. Behavior
control variables do not affect the intention of
quitting smoking
The Higher Price of Cigarettes and Students’ Intention to Stop Smoking
345

REFERENCES
Aan, J. 2001. Struktur Perilaku dan Kinerja Industri
Rokok Kretek di Indonesia Tahun 1992-1996.
Yogyakarta: Thesis pada Program Pasca
Sarjana. Universitas Gadjah Mada.
Departemen Kesehatan RI. 2013. Laporan Hasil
Riset Kesehatan Dasar (Riskesdas)
Indonesia. Jakarta: Badan Penelitian Dan
Pengembangan Kesehatan Depkes Republik
Indonesia
Maharani, O. 2014. Hubungan Jumlah Uang Saku,
Tingkat Stress dan Sikap Tentang Merokok
dengan Perilaku Merokok Remaja. Solo:
Universitas Sebelas Maret
Martiany, D. 2016. Kendali Jumlah Perokok Untuk
Melindungi Kesehatan Perempuan. Jakarta:
Pusat Penelitian Badan Keahlian Dewan
Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia
Salim, A. D. 2013. IMC Iklan Promosi dan Sponsor
Rokok Strategi Perusahaan Menggiring Remaja
untuk Merokok. Jurnal. Malang: BENEFIT
South East Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. 2012.
ASEAN Tobacco Tax Report Card, Regional
Comparison and Trends, February 2012.
Bangkok: Southeast Asia Initiative on Tobacco
Tax (SITT) – Southeast Asia Tobacco Control
Alliance (SEATCA)
Thabrany, H. 2016. Jurnal Ekonomi Kesehatan
Indonesia. Depok. Center For Health Economics
and Policy Studies (CHEPS)
Tulakom dan Bonet. 2003. Merokok, Ngapaian Juga.
Jakarta: Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta
WHO. 2011. WHO Report on The Global Tobacco
Epidemic, 2011:Warning About the Dangers of
Tobacco. World Health Organization
INAHEA 2017 - 4th Annual Meeting of the Indonesian Health Economics Association
346