Working Paper: NBER ID: w26923
Authors: Philip Decicca; Donald S. Kenkel; Michael F. Lovenheim
Abstract: Tobacco regulation has been a major component of health policy in the developed world since the UK’s Royal College of Physicians’ and the U.S. Surgeon General’s reports in the 1960s. Such regulation, which has intensified in the past two decades, includes cigarette taxation, place-based smoking bans in areas ranging from bars and restaurants to workplaces, and regulations designed to make tobacco products less desirable. More recently, the availability of alternative products, most notably e-cigarettes, has increased dramatically, and these products are just starting to be regulated. Despite an extensive body of research on tobacco regulations, there remains substantial debate regarding their effectiveness, and ultimately, their impact on economic welfare. We provide the first comprehensive review of the state of research in the economics of tobacco regulation in two decades.
Keywords: Tobacco Regulation; Cigarette Taxation; Public Health; E-Cigarettes
JEL Codes: I12; I18; K32
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Higher cigarette taxes (H29) | Reduced smoking rates (I12) |
| Smoking bans (L66) | Reduced exposure to secondhand smoke (I19) |
| Smoking bans (L66) | Improved public health outcomes (I14) |
| Rise of alternative products (e-cigarettes) (Q42) | Complicated tobacco control policy (Z28) |
| Cigarette taxes (H29) | Changes in smoking participation (I12) |
| Confounders (demographics and economic conditions) (J19) | Smoking behavior (I12) |