Are workplace smoking bans (WSBs) more than a ban on smoking? We study whether WSBs influence smoking cessation and exert behavioural spillover effects on (i) a set of health behaviours, and (ii) on individuals not directly affected by the bans. Drawing upon quasi-experimental evidence from...

This paper analyzes the relationship between higher education and body weight and smoking behavior among women in Turkey. We exploit the largely exogenous and substantial increase in the openings of universities throughout Turkey. Based on the spatial and temporal variability of university...

We examine whether having a parent who smoked during one's childhood or adolescence increases the probability of being in energy poverty in adulthood. We find that people who had a parent who smoked when they were young are 0.8 to 1.4 percentage points more likely to be in energy poverty later...

While under communism the identity-providing religion was suppressed, religiosity is strong today even among the youth in post-communist countries. This provides an appropriate background to investigate how external and internal religiosity relates to risky behaviors like smoking, drinking, and...

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...

This study presents associations between the perceived social rejection of sexual minorities and tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis consumption and unprotected sexual intercourse in the capital of Greece, Athens. This is the first Greek study to evaluate the concept of the minority stress theory on...

Are workplace smoking bans (WSBs) more than a ban on smoking? We study whether WSBs influence smoking cessation and exert behavioural spillover effects on (i) a set of health behaviours, and (ii) on individuals not directly affected by the bans. Drawing upon quasi-experimental evidence from...

Are workplace smoking bans (WSBs) more than a ban on smoking? We study whether WSBs influence smoking cessation and exert behavioural spillover effects on (i) a number of health behaviours, and (ii) on individuals not directly affected by the bans. Drawing upon quasi-experimental evidence from...

Medical experts have argued forcefully that using cigarettes harms health, prompting the adoption of myriad anti-smoking policies. The association between smoking and mortality may, however, be driven by unobserved factors, making it difficult to discern the underlying long-term causal...

While under communism, identity-providing religion was suppressed, religiosity is strong today even among the youth in post-communist countries. This provides an appropriate background to investigate how external and internal religiosity relates to addictive behaviors like smoking, drinking and...

Decision-making in the realm of health behaviors, such as smoking or drinking, is influenced both by biological factors, such as genetic predispositions, as well as environmental factors, such as financial liquidity and health insurance status. We show how the choice of smoking after a...

This paper investigates the role of biased health perceptions as driving forces of risky health behavior. We define absolute and relative health perception biases, illustrate their measurement in surveys and provide evidence on their relevance. Next, we decompose the theoretical effect into its...

Most governments will have to raise additional resources to deal with the aftermath of the corona crisis. This paper argues that excise duties on drinking, smoking, gambling, sugar-sweetened beverages, plastics, fossil fuels, motoring, telecoms and platforms are the preferred instruments. In...

Cigarette smokers earn significantly less than nonsmokers, but the magnitude of the smoking wage gap and the pathways by which it originates are unclear. Proposed mechanisms often focus on spot differences in employee productivity or employer preferences, neglecting the dynamic nature of human...

In this paper we examine the impact of a tailored health warning on health outcomes. We exploit the design of a household panel survey that provided feedback to participants on their blood-pressure levels as a quasi-experiment. We find that many participants who were told their blood-pressure...

Using within-family variation from twins and siblings, I find that smokers earn approximately 16% less than nonsmokers. Possible explanations for this earning difference are addiction-related productivity declines and earning reductions from higher health insurance costs. To investigate further,...

This paper investigates the role of biased health perceptions as driving forces of risky health behavior. We define absolute and relative health perception biases, illustrate their measurement in surveys and provide evidence on their relevance. Next, we decompose the theoretical effect into its...

Researchers have focused on the contemporaneous relationship between cigarette taxes and smoking, while the longer-run effects of cigarette taxes have received little attention. Using individual-level panel data from 1970-2017, we estimate the effects of cigarette taxes experienced as a teenager...

While under communism the identity-providing religion was suppressed, religiosity is strong today even among the youth in post-communist countries. This provides an appropriate background to investigate how external and internal religiosity relates to risky behaviors like smoking, drinking, and...

We examine whether having a parent who smoked during one's childhood or adolescence increases the probability of being in energy poverty in adulthood. We find that people who had a parent who smoked when they were young are 0.8 to 1.4 percentage points more likely to be in energy poverty later...

Are workplace smoking bans (WSBs) more than a ban on smoking? We study whether WSBs influence smoking cessation and exert behavioural spillover effects on (i) a set of health behaviours, and (ii) on individuals not directly affected by the bans. Drawing upon quasi-experimental evidence from...

This study presents associations between the perceived social rejection of sexual minorities and tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis consumption and unprotected sexual intercourse in the capital of Greece, Athens. This is the first Greek study to evaluate the concept of the minority stress theory on...

This paper analyzes the relationship between higher education and body weight and smoking behavior among women in Turkey. We exploit the largely exogenous and substantial increase in the openings of universities throughout Turkey. Based on the spatial and temporal variability of university...

This study presents associations between the perceived social rejection of sexual minorities and tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis consumption and unprotected sexual intercourse in the capital of Greece, Athens. This is the first Greek study to evaluate the concept of the minority stress theory on...

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...

This study presents associations between the perceived social rejection of sexual minorities and tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis consumption and unprotected sexual intercourse in the capital of Greece, Athens. This is the first Greek study to evaluate the concept of the minority stress theory on...

In this working paper, an exploration of available data and information is conducted and findings presented, to support the view that the dichotomous business model and related harm reduction narrative promoted nowadays by the tobacco industry, merits scrutiny by the international community. The...

This study examines the long-term link between in-utero cigarette taxes and adult prenatal smoking. We use U.S. birth certificate records to demonstrate that exposure to higher in-utero cigarette taxes (over 1965-2001) reduces later-life adult pre-pregnancy and prenatal smoking. We also show...

There is a lack of independent data regarding the illicit tobacco trade in Malaysia. Tobacco Industry (TI) commissioned data has previously been criticised for overestimating the illicit tobacco trade and for a lack of methodological transparency. The aim of this study is to present an...

School shootings and other tragedies involving gun-violence have become commonplace in the United States. While much research has been conducted into the direct effects on affected individuals, less is known about community-level effects. We use data on grocery-store sales at the county-level to...

Using linked individual data on concealed handgun permits (CHP), reported crimes and arrests, I examine the dynamics of gun-ownership, victimization and neighborhood crime. I initially show that new CHP holders are 68% more likely to be crime victims with the largest increase due to having a...

Cigarettes constitute a very large product category with very adverse health outcomes for consumers. Knowing more about cigarette purchasing will inform researchers, and help policymakers make better decisions about this product. We examine how heavy cigarette purchasers differ from ‘light’...

Cigarette smokers earn significantly less than nonsmokers, but the magnitude of the smoking wage gap and the pathways by which it originates are unclear. Proposed mechanisms often focus on spot differences in employee productivity or employer preferences, neglecting the dynamic nature of human...

A sound understanding of the potency of tobacco control policies is key to tobacco prevention. This study exploits a Smoothed Instrumental Variables Quantile Regression estimator to gauge the effectiveness of tobacco control policies while addressing major methodological and data limitations...

Medical experts have argued forcefully that using cigarettes harms health, prompting the adoption of myriad anti-smoking policies. The association between smoking and mortality may, however, be influenced by unobserved factors, making it difficult to discern the underlying long-term causal...