The Economics of Tobacco Use in Jordan

This dissertation examines the economics of tobacco use in Jordan. The heart of this analysis is to conduct a global survey called the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) that can be compared to other countries, from which the prevalence of tobacco use in Jordan, exposure to second hand smoke, quit attempts for those aged 15 and above, Gender differences of tobacco use and elasticity of demand for cigarettes can be estimated. The results from the GATS showed that the overall prevalence of tobacco use for those aged 15 years old and above in 2011 was 42.2 %. By Gender men prevalence of smoking is estimated to be 55.9% and women is 23.7%. By type of tobacco The overall prevalence of cigarettes use is 35.2 % , water pipe is 15.2 %, and other types like hand rolled ciagreets, pipes and cigars is 1.5%. The elasticity of smoking in Jordan was estimated to be -0.6 . An additional 1% tax that increases the price of cigarettes would bring about 6 % a reduction in cigarette consumption. It would also help reduce the incidents smoking-related illnesses. Elasticity of smoking for females was estimated to be -0.008 and for males -0.81. In terms of policy implication, warning, offering cessation programs, reinvesting in men, reeducating women, reinforcing current laws of prohibiting smoking, increasing prices to keep pace of inflation, and revisiting the GATS ever year or so with some modification are of high priority in Jordan.