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Intended and unintended effects of e-cigarette taxes on youth tobacco use

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  • Abouk, Rahi
  • Courtemanche, Charles
  • Dave, Dhaval
  • Feng, Bo
  • Friedman, Abigail S.
  • Maclean, Johanna Catherine
  • Pesko, Michael F.
  • Sabia, Joseph J.
  • Safford, Samuel

Abstract

Over the past decade, rising youth use of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) has contributed to aggressive regulation by state and local governments. Between 2010 and mid-2019, ten states and two large counties adopted ENDS taxes. We use two large national surveys (Monitoring the Future and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System) to estimate the impact of ENDS taxes on youth tobacco use. We find that ENDS taxes reduce youth ENDS consumption, with estimated ENDS tax elasticities of -0.06 to -0.21. However, we estimate sizable positive cigarette cross-tax effects, suggesting economic substitution between cigarettes and ENDS for youth. These substitution effects are particularly large for frequent cigarette smoking. We conclude that the unintended effects of ENDS taxation may considerably undercut or even outweigh any public health gains.

Suggested Citation

  • Abouk, Rahi & Courtemanche, Charles & Dave, Dhaval & Feng, Bo & Friedman, Abigail S. & Maclean, Johanna Catherine & Pesko, Michael F. & Sabia, Joseph J. & Safford, Samuel, 2023. "Intended and unintended effects of e-cigarette taxes on youth tobacco use," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:87:y:2023:i:c:s0167629622001345
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2022.102720
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    6. Abouk, Rahi & De, Prabal K. & Pesko, Michael F., 2024. "Estimating the effects of tobacco-21 on youth tobacco use and sales," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    7. Salvatore Barbaro & Nathalie Neu-Yanders, 2022. "Tobacco control and optimal taxation in a changing European market landscape," Working Papers 2204, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS); E-cigarettes; Vaping; Cigarettes; Smoking; Taxes; Youth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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