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Cigarette Taxes and Older Adult Smoking: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

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  • Johanna Catherine MacLean
  • Asia Sikora Kessler
  • Donald S. Kenkel

Abstract

In this study, we use the Health and Retirement Study to test whether older adult smokers, defined as those 50 years and older, respond to cigarette tax increases. Our preferred specifications show that older adult smokers respond modestly to tax increases: a $1.00 (131.6%) tax increase leads to a 3.8–5.2% reduction in cigarettes smoked per day (implied tax elasticity = −0.03 to −0.04). We identify heterogeneity in tax elasticity across demographic groups as defined by sex, race/ethnicity, education, and marital status and by smoking intensity and level of addictive stock. These findings have implications for public health policy implementation in an aging population. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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  • Johanna Catherine MacLean & Asia Sikora Kessler & Donald S. Kenkel, 2016. "Cigarette Taxes and Older Adult Smoking: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(4), pages 424-438, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:25:y:2016:i:4:p:424-438
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3161
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael F. Pesko & John A. Tauras & Jidong Huang & Frank J. Chaloupka, IV, 2016. "The Influence of Geography and Measurement in Estimating Cigarette Price Responsiveness," NBER Working Papers 22296, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Heboyan, Vahé & Hovhannisyan, Vardges & Bakhtavoryan, Rafael, 2023. "A Comprehensive Analysis of Tobacco Control Policies within a Smoothed Instrumental Variables Quantile Regression Framework," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335614, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Carpenter, Christopher S. & Sansone, Dario, 2021. "Cigarette taxes and smoking among sexual minority adults," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Johanna Catherine Maclean & Michael F. Pesko & Steven C. Hill, 2017. "The Effect of Insurance Expansions on Smoking Cessation Medication Prescriptions: Evidence from ACA Medicaid Expansions," NBER Working Papers 23450, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Kajal Lahiri & Xian Li, 2020. "Smoking Behavior of Older Adults: A Panel Data Analysis Using HRS," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 18(3), pages 495-523, September.
    6. Michael F. Pesko & Charles J. Courtemanche & Johanna Catherine Maclean, 2019. "The Effects of Traditional Cigarette and E-Cigarette Taxes on Adult Tobacco Product Use," NBER Working Papers 26017, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Alex Rees-Jones & Kyle Rozema, 2023. "Price Isn’t Everything: Behavioral Response Around Changes In Sin Taxes," National Tax Journal, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(1), pages 5-35.
    8. Rosemary Hiscock & Nicole H Augustin & J Robert Branston & Anna B Gilmore, 2020. "Standardised packaging, minimum excise tax, and RYO focussed tax rise implications for UK tobacco pricing," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-21, February.
    9. Bishop, James, 2015. "Interacting effects of state cigarette taxes on smoking participation," MPRA Paper 66609, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Pesko, Michael F. & Currie, Janet M., 2019. "E-cigarette minimum legal sale age laws and traditional cigarette use among rural pregnant teenagers," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 71-90.
    11. James M. Bishop, 2018. "Does Cigarette Smuggling Prop Up Smoking Rates?," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 4(1), pages 80-104, Winter.
    12. Michael F. Pesko & Charles J. Courtemanche & Johanna Catherine Maclean, 2020. "The effects of traditional cigarette and e-cigarette tax rates on adult tobacco product use," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 229-258, June.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination

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