Self Control and Support for Anti Smoking Policies Among Smokers, Ex Smokers and Non Smokers

L.b Amador and A.l Nicolas

Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers from HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York

Abstract: In this paper we sustain that non smokers who might be at risk of starting to smoke or relapsing can benefit from anti smoking policies such as tax hikes and smoking bans because these are mechanisms that enhance their self control with regard to tobacco consumption. We formalise this conjecture by proposing a model where starting/relapsing might result from time inconsistent preferences in a way that mirrors the inability of some smokers to carry out the decision to quit. We test the implications of this model using rich information on smoking behaviour from the Catalan Health Survey of 2006. The empirical results support our hypothesis and suggest that the welfare gains derived from the reinforcement of self control caused by tax hikes and smoking bans will accrue not only to smokers but also to the rest of the population.

Keywords: time inconsistencies; smoking bans; tobacco taxes; Spain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe and nep-hea
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:yor:hectdg:11/01

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