Smoking cessation as an air pollution avoidance behavior: The unintended benefit of air quality information disclosure in China

Air pollution and smoking share many similarities: both are inhaled into the lungs, cause comparable diseases, and rank among the leading causes of premature death worldwide. Yet, their relationship remains largely unexplored. This paper provides the first causal investigation of the effect of air pollution on smoking. Leveraging the roll-out of a nationwide real-time air quality monitoring program in China, we distinguish between the impact of air pollution itself and the effect of air pollution awareness. Using both individual-level survey data and city-level aggregate online search data, we find air pollution by itself does not significantly affect smoking. However, heightened awareness resulting from informational exposure is associated with a reduction in smoking prevalence. This effect is concentrated among older individuals, those with higher socioeconomic status, and light smokers. Furthermore, the impact is more pronounced in major cities, likely due to greater media coverage of air pollution in these areas.