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Obesity, Cigarette Prices, Youth Access Laws, and Adolescent Smoking Initiation

Author

Listed:
  • John Cawley

    (Cornell University
    NBER)

  • Sara Markowitz

    (Rutgers University
    NBER)

  • John Tauras

    (University of Illinois at Chicago
    NBER)

Abstract

This paper examines the role of body weight in smoking initiation by adolescents. We estimate discrete-time hazard models of the decision to initiate smoking using data from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort. We control for cigarette prices, tobacco control policies and socioeconomic factors. To avoid problems stemming from the endogeneity of body weight, we also estimate models using the method of instrumental variables. We find clear gender differences. Lighter girls are less likely to initiate smoking, while current weight is uncorrelated with initiation among boys. Among girls, smoking initiation is insensitive to cigarette prices, but among boys smoking initiation is negatively correlated with cigarette prices. These gender-specific differences may help explain the mixed evidence of the impact of price on smoking initiation found in previous literature.

Suggested Citation

  • John Cawley & Sara Markowitz & John Tauras, 2006. "Obesity, Cigarette Prices, Youth Access Laws, and Adolescent Smoking Initiation," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 149-170, Winter.
    • Handle: RePEc:eej:eeconj:v:32:y:2006:i:1:p:149-170
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Angrist, Joshua D, 2001. "Estimations of Limited Dependent Variable Models with Dummy Endogenous Regressors: Simple Strategies for Empirical Practice," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 19(1), pages 2-16, January.
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    8. Flegal, K.M. & Williamson, D.F. & Pamuk, E.R. & Rosenberg, H.M., 2004. "Estimating deaths attributable to obesity in the United States," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(9), pages 1486-1489.
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    10. DeCicca, Philip & Kenkel, Donald & Mathios, Alan, 2000. "Putting Out The Fires: Will Higher Taxes Reduce Youth Smoking?," Working Papers 00-3, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics.
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    Cited by:

    1. John A. Tauras & Jidong Huang & Frank J. Chaloupka, 2013. "Differential Impact of Tobacco Control Policies on Youth Sub-Populations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.
    2. G. Guindon, 2014. "The impact of tobacco prices on smoking onset in Vietnam: duration analyses of retrospective data," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 15(1), pages 19-39, January.
    3. Cawley, John & von Hinke, Stephanie, 2013. "The Demand for Cigarettes as Derived from the Demand for Weight Control," IZA Discussion Papers 7213, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Pearl Bader & David Boisclair & Roberta Ferrence, 2011. "Effects of Tobacco Taxation and Pricing on Smoking Behavior in High Risk Populations: A Knowledge Synthesis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-22, October.
    5. Ce Shang, 2015. "The Effect of Smoke-Free Air Law in Bars on Smoking Initiation and Relapse among Teenagers and Young Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, January.
    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. Adrianna Bella & Temesgen Kifle & Kam Ki Tang, 2021. "Smoke gets in your shape: The effects of smoking on body weight in Indonesia," Discussion Papers Series 646, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    8. Meier, Armando N. & Odermatt, Reto & Stutzer, Alois, 2021. "Tobacco sales prohibition and teen smoking," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 998-1014.
    9. Aliaksandr Amialchuk & Kateryna Bornukova & Mir M. Ali, 2012. "Smoking and Obesity Revisited: Evidence from Belarus," BEROC Working Paper Series 19, Belarusian Economic Research and Outreach Center (BEROC).
    10. Deliana Kostova & Frank Chaloupka & Ce Shang, 2015. "A duration analysis of the role of cigarette prices on smoking initiation and cessation in developing countries," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 16(3), pages 279-288, April.
    11. Fang, Hai & Ali, Mir M. & Rizzo, John A., 2009. "Does smoking affect body weight and obesity in China?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 334-350, December.

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