The effects of relative deprivation on smoking status

This research study examines the association between relative deprivation and smoking habits. Dividing individuals into different reference groups, this study measures relative deprivation in terms of different levels of income and education inequality within those reference groups. The reference groups are based on gender, region, age group and the combinations of the three. Data for this research study are taken from the 'Health Research Survey' conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) in 2012. The sample consists of people aged between 25 and 64. Separate logistic regressions are used to undermine the relationship between the smoking status of individuals and the two relative deprivation variables. The regressions control for marital status and job status of individuals. Results of this research study show that the probability of smoking increases with rising income relative deprivation and education relative deprivation. Among men, the probability of smoking increases with relative deprivation; among women, on the other hand, the probability of smoking decreases with relative deprivation. Another result is that in urban areas the probability of smoking is higher for relatively deprived individuals, whereas in rural areas smoking probability and relative deprivation are not significantly related. In addition, in urban areas the probability of smoking is higher in individuals with high relative education-deprivation, although in rural areas the probability of smoking is higher in individuals with low relative education-deprivation. Key Words: Smoking, income inequality, education inequality, relative deprivation