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. 2024 Sep;33(9):1962-1988.
doi: 10.1002/hec.4859. Epub 2024 May 28.

Exposure to cigarette taxes as a teenager and the persistence of smoking into adulthood

Andrew Friedson  1 , Moyan Li  2 , Katherine Meckel  3 , Daniel I Rees  4 , Daniel W Sacks  5
Affiliations

Exposure to cigarette taxes as a teenager and the persistence of smoking into adulthood

Andrew Friedson et al. Health Econ. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Are teenage and adult smoking causally related? Recent anti-tobacco policy is predicated on the assumption that preventing teenagers from smoking will ensure that fewer adults smoke, but direct evidence in support of this assumption is scant. Using data from three nationally representative sources and instrumenting for teenage smoking with cigarette taxes experienced at ages 14-17, we document a strong positive relationship between teenage and adult smoking: deterring 10 teenagers from smoking through raising cigarette taxes roughly translates into 5 fewer adult smokers. We conclude that efforts to reduce teenage smoking can have long-lasting consequences on smoking participation and, presumably, health.

Keywords: cigarettes; health behaviors; smoking; taxes.

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References

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