Congress logo
Back to Conference page

The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Building capacity for a tobacco-free world

July 12-15, 2006, Washington, DC, USA

Thursday, July 13, 2006 - 12:00 PM
13-33

Is Smoking Associated with Perception of Income Inequality, Relative Material Well-Being, and Social Capital?

Mohammad Siahpush, PhD, MBiostat, Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, The Cancer Council Victoria, 100 Drummond Street, Carlton, 3053, Victoria, Australia, Ron Borland, PhD, MAPS, VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control, The Cancer Council Victoria, 100 Drummond Street, Carlton, 3053, Victoria, Australia, Janet Taylor, MA, Social Action and Research, The Brotherhood of St Laurence, 67 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, 3065, Victoria, Australia, Gopal K. Singh, PhD, Office of Data and Program Development, HRSA / Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Room 18-41, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, Zahid Ansari, MBBS, MPH, MS., Health Surveillance and Evaluation section, Rural and Regional Health and Aged Care Services, 18/120 Spencer Street, Melbourne, 3000, Victoria, Australia, and Adrian Serraglio, BSc, Rural and Regional Health and Aged Care Services, Health Surveillance and Evaluation section, 18/120 Spencer St, Melbournre, 3000, Victoria, Australia.

Objective: To examine the association of smoking status with perception of income inequality, relative material well-being and community-level social capital, controlling for individual-level indicators of social capital, and common socio-economic variables.

Methods: Data were from telephone interviews of approximately 126 residents selected at random (using the Electronic White Pages) from each of 22 local government areas (LGAs) in the Melbourne metropolitan region, Victoria, Australia (total n = 2762).

Results: Being a smoker was associated with a higher level of perceived income inequality, lower perception of relative material well-being and living in a community with a lower degree of trust and safety. The finding that one's perception of relative material well-being and income inequality affects smoking implies that society-wide increases in affluence may not bring about lower smoking prevalence and better health unless they are accompanied by policies that promote a more egalitarian society and a more equitable income distribution.


See more of Poster Session - Thursday
See more of People

See more of The 13th World Conference on Tobacco and Health Conference