The Effect of Taxes and Bans on Passive Smoking
- Presenter:
Chair: Phil Cook; Discussant: TBA Mon June 5, 2006 15:30-17:00 Room 213
This paper evaluates the effect of excise taxes and bans on smoking in public places on the exposure to tobacco smoke of non-smokers. We use a novel way of quantifying passive smoking. We use data on cotinine concentration- a metabolite of nicotine- measured in a large population of non-smokers over time. Exploiting state and time variation across US states, we reach two important conclusions. First, excise taxes have a significant effect on passive smoking. Second, smoking bans have on average no effects on non smokers. The reason is that smokers replace smoking at banned locations with smoking in places, where non smokers are in turn more likely exposed. In particular, while bans in public transportation or in schools decrease the exposure of non smokers, bans in recreational public places can in fact perversely increase their exposure by displacing smokers to private places where they contaminate non smokers. Bans affect different social groups differently: we find that smoking bans increase the exposure of poorer individuals, while it decreases the exposure of richer individuals, leading to widening health disparities.
