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

Johanna Maclean, Asia Sikora Kessler () and Donald Kenkel
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Asia Sikora Kessler: Department of Health Promotion, Social and Economic Behavioral Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center

No 1502, DETU Working Papers from Department of Economics, Temple University

Abstract: In this study we use the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) 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% to 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.

Keywords: smoking; cigarette taxes; older adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 J14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-hea and nep-pub
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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http://www.cla.temple.edu/RePEc/documents/DETU_15_02.pdf First version, 2015 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tem:wpaper:1502

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