The dual impact of tobacco spending: crowding out essentials and crowding in addictive behaviors
Abstract Tobacco use, a major preventable risk factor for premature death and morbidity, profoundly shapes individual and household decision-making. Tobacco spending in lower-income economies exacerbates economic strain of the households. To accommodate tobacco costs, many households are forced to r...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08648-1 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849332926389420032 |
|---|---|
| author | Elvina Merkaj Drini Imami Jeffrey Drope |
| author_facet | Elvina Merkaj Drini Imami Jeffrey Drope |
| author_sort | Elvina Merkaj |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Tobacco use, a major preventable risk factor for premature death and morbidity, profoundly shapes individual and household decision-making. Tobacco spending in lower-income economies exacerbates economic strain of the households. To accommodate tobacco costs, many households are forced to reduce essential expenditures on health and education—a phenomenon known as the crowding out effect. This study uses data from Albania’s national Household Budget Survey and applies a three-stage least squares method with instrumental variables to estimate Engel curves to shed light on how tobacco use influences household financial decisions. The findings reveal that tobacco spending significantly reduces expenditures on essential needs such as health, education, housing, and clothing. Additionally, tobacco use shows a positive correlation with alcohol spending, revealing another negative influence of an addictive behavior on household resource allocation. The results emphasize the urgent need for stronger tobacco control measures promote better economic decision-making within households. Such measures would enhance public health, improve economic stability, and encourage more equitable resource distribution. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-563f3866130c4805b2377aa86d89186c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-563f3866130c4805b2377aa86d89186c2025-08-20T03:46:03ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111110.1038/s41598-025-08648-1The dual impact of tobacco spending: crowding out essentials and crowding in addictive behaviorsElvina Merkaj0Drini Imami1Jeffrey Drope2Polytechnic University of MarcheAgriculture University of TiranaEconomics for Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthAbstract Tobacco use, a major preventable risk factor for premature death and morbidity, profoundly shapes individual and household decision-making. Tobacco spending in lower-income economies exacerbates economic strain of the households. To accommodate tobacco costs, many households are forced to reduce essential expenditures on health and education—a phenomenon known as the crowding out effect. This study uses data from Albania’s national Household Budget Survey and applies a three-stage least squares method with instrumental variables to estimate Engel curves to shed light on how tobacco use influences household financial decisions. The findings reveal that tobacco spending significantly reduces expenditures on essential needs such as health, education, housing, and clothing. Additionally, tobacco use shows a positive correlation with alcohol spending, revealing another negative influence of an addictive behavior on household resource allocation. The results emphasize the urgent need for stronger tobacco control measures promote better economic decision-making within households. Such measures would enhance public health, improve economic stability, and encourage more equitable resource distribution.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08648-1Tobacco spendingCrowding out effectAlbania |
| spellingShingle | Elvina Merkaj Drini Imami Jeffrey Drope The dual impact of tobacco spending: crowding out essentials and crowding in addictive behaviors Scientific Reports Tobacco spending Crowding out effect Albania |
| title | The dual impact of tobacco spending: crowding out essentials and crowding in addictive behaviors |
| title_full | The dual impact of tobacco spending: crowding out essentials and crowding in addictive behaviors |
| title_fullStr | The dual impact of tobacco spending: crowding out essentials and crowding in addictive behaviors |
| title_full_unstemmed | The dual impact of tobacco spending: crowding out essentials and crowding in addictive behaviors |
| title_short | The dual impact of tobacco spending: crowding out essentials and crowding in addictive behaviors |
| title_sort | dual impact of tobacco spending crowding out essentials and crowding in addictive behaviors |
| topic | Tobacco spending Crowding out effect Albania |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08648-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elvinamerkaj thedualimpactoftobaccospendingcrowdingoutessentialsandcrowdinginaddictivebehaviors AT driniimami thedualimpactoftobaccospendingcrowdingoutessentialsandcrowdinginaddictivebehaviors AT jeffreydrope thedualimpactoftobaccospendingcrowdingoutessentialsandcrowdinginaddictivebehaviors AT elvinamerkaj dualimpactoftobaccospendingcrowdingoutessentialsandcrowdinginaddictivebehaviors AT driniimami dualimpactoftobaccospendingcrowdingoutessentialsandcrowdinginaddictivebehaviors AT jeffreydrope dualimpactoftobaccospendingcrowdingoutessentialsandcrowdinginaddictivebehaviors |