Reducing Underage Alcohol and Tobacco Use: Evidence from the Introduction of Vertical Identification Cards

Andriana Bellou () and Rachana Bhatt ()
Additional contact information
Rachana Bhatt: Georgia State University

No 6951, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: From 1994-2009, forty-three states changed the design of their driver's license/state identification cards in an effort to reduce underage access to and consumption of alcohol and tobacco. In these states, individuals under the age of 21 are issued licenses that are vertically oriented, whereas licenses for individuals 21 and older retain a traditional horizontal shape. This paper examines the effect of this design change on underage alcohol and tobacco use. Using a difference-in-difference methodology, we find a reduction in drinking and smoking for 16 year olds. These results are robust to the inclusion of state-specific linear time trends, and are upheld in a triple difference model that uses a within state control group of teens that did not receive a vertical license to control for state-specific unobserved factors. Interestingly, we find that the effects of the design change are concentrated in the 1-2 years after a state begins issuing vertical licenses; there is little evidence of an effect of the license on underage consumption in the long-run. This finding is consistent with a scenario where, over time, teens substitute towards other methods of obtaining age-restricted products, and/or retailers continue to make underage sales.

Keywords: youth; alcohol; and; tobacco; policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 J1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 47 pages
Date: 2012-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: Journal of Health Economics, 2013, 32 (2), 353-366

Downloads: (external link)
https://docs.iza.org/dp6951.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Reducing underage alcohol and tobacco use: Evidence from the introduction of vertical identification cards (2013)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6951

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
IZA, Margard Ody, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) IZA, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Holger Hinte ().