IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/asiaec/v36y2022i3p318-336.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Smoking Keep You Slim? Evidence from Japan's Smoking Ban in the Workplace

Author

Listed:
  • Junchao Zhang

Abstract

Long‐term time‐series data show a strong negative correlation between obesity and smoking prevalence, which may not reflect the causality. Many heavy smokers claim that smoking helps them maintain a slim body and keep smoking despite the health risks. Using the Japan Household Panel Survey, this study investigates the causal effect of smoking on body shapes by exogenous variations of Japan's smoking ban in the workplace. Contrary to previous studies, our instrumental variable estimates show that smoking has no effect on body mass index, obesity and underweightness. We also construct an overidentified model to test the robustness of our results.

Suggested Citation

  • Junchao Zhang, 2022. "Does Smoking Keep You Slim? Evidence from Japan's Smoking Ban in the Workplace," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 318-336, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:asiaec:v:36:y:2022:i:3:p:318-336
    DOI: 10.1111/asej.12279
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/asej.12279
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/asej.12279?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cawley, John & Markowitz, Sara & Tauras, John, 2004. "Lighting up and slimming down: the effects of body weight and cigarette prices on adolescent smoking initiation," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 293-311, March.
    2. Chou, Shin-Yi & Grossman, Michael & Saffer, Henry, 2004. "An economic analysis of adult obesity: results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 565-587, May.
    3. W. Kip Viscusi & Joni Hersch, 2001. "Cigarette Smokers As Job Risk Takers," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(2), pages 269-280, May.
    4. Gruber, Jonathan & Frakes, Michael, 2006. "Does falling smoking lead to rising obesity?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 183-197, March.
    5. Shadrach Dare & Daniel F Mackay & Jill P Pell, 2015. "Relationship between Smoking and Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study of 499,504 Middle-Aged Adults in the UK General Population," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(4), pages 1-12, April.
    6. Herberholz, Chantal, 2020. "Risk attitude, time preference and health behaviours in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    7. Courtemanche, Charles, 2009. "Rising cigarette prices and rising obesity: Coincidence or unintended consequence?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 781-798, July.
    8. Charles L. Baum, 2009. "The effects of cigarette costs on BMI and obesity," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(1), pages 3-19, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. L. Pieroni & L. Salmasi, 2015. "Does Cigarette Smoking Affect Body Weight? Causal Estimates from the Clean Indoor Air Law Discontinuity," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 82(328), pages 671-704, October.
    2. Jennifer M. Mellor, 2011. "Do cigarette taxes affect children's body mass index? The effect of household environment on health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(4), pages 417-431, April.
    3. Aliaksandr Amialchuk & Kateryna Bornukova & Mir M. Ali, 2018. "Will a Decline in Smoking Increase Body Weights? Evidence from Belarus," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 44(2), pages 190-210, April.
    4. Davide Dragone & Francesco Manaresi & Luca Savorelli, 2016. "Obesity and Smoking: can we Kill Two Birds with one Tax?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(11), pages 1464-1482, November.
    5. Callison, Kevin & Schiman, Cuiping & Schiman, Jeffrey C., 2021. "Smoking cessation and weight gain: Evidence from China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    6. Courtemanche, Charles & Tchernis, Rusty & Ukert, Benjamin, 2018. "The effect of smoking on obesity: Evidence from a randomized trial," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 31-44.
    7. Wehby, George L. & Murray, Jeffrey C. & Wilcox, Allen & Lie, Rolv T., 2012. "Smoking and body weight: Evidence using genetic instruments," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 113-126.
    8. Davide, Dragone & Francesco, Manaresi & Luca, Savorelli, 2013. "Obesity and smoking: can we catch two birds with one tax?," SIRE Discussion Papers 2013-31, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
    9. Pieroni, Luca & Salmasi, Luca, 2016. "The effect of smoking habit changes on body weight: Evidence from the UK," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 1-13.
    10. John Cawley & Davide Dragone & Stephanie Von Hinke Kessler Scholder, 2016. "The Demand for Cigarettes as Derived from the Demand for Weight Loss: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(1), pages 8-23, January.
    11. Wehby, George L. & Courtemanche, Charles J., 2012. "The heterogeneity of the cigarette price effect on body mass index," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 719-729.
    12. Pieroni, Luca & Salmasi, Luca, 2012. "Smoking habit changes and body weight: causal estimates from the British Household Panel Survey," MPRA Paper 43465, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Liu, Feng & Zhang, Ning & Cheng, Kai-Wen & Wang, Hua, 2010. "Reduced smoking and rising obesity: Does smoking ban in the workplace matter?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 249-252, September.
    14. Charles J. Courtemanche & Joshua C. Pinkston & Christopher J. Ruhm & George L. Wehby, 2016. "Can Changing Economic Factors Explain the Rise in Obesity?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 82(4), pages 1266-1310, April.
    15. Faiz Ur Rehman & Muhammad Nasir, 2018. "In the Same Boat, but not Equals: The Heterogeneous Effects of Indirect Taxation on Child Health in Punjab-Pakistan," PIDE-Working Papers 2018:158, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    16. Pieroni, Luca & Salmasi, Luca, 2010. "Body weight and socio-economic determinants: quantile estimations from the British Household Panel Survey," ISER Working Paper Series 2010-41, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    17. Courtemanche, Charles & Carden, Art, 2011. "Supersizing supercenters? The impact of Walmart Supercenters on body mass index and obesity," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 165-181, March.
    18. Charles Courtemanche & Garth Heutel & Patrick McAlvanah, 2015. "Impatience, Incentives and Obesity," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(582), pages 1-31, February.
    19. Odelia Rosin, 2012. "Weight‐Loss Dieting Behavior: An Economic Analysis," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(7), pages 825-838, July.
    20. Pieroni, L. & Salmasi, L., 2014. "Fast-food consumption and body weight. Evidence from the UK," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 94-105.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:asiaec:v:36:y:2022:i:3:p:318-336. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eaeaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.