Tobacco Taxes and Smoking Bans Impact Differently on Obesity and Eating Habits

Abstract

Policy interventions aimed at affecting a specific behavior may also indirectly affect individual choices in other domains. In this paper we study the direct effect of tobacco excise taxes and smoking bans on smoking behavior, and the indirect effect on eating behavior and body weight. Using very detailed clinical data on individual health, smoking, and dietary habits, we show that antismoking policies are effective in reducing smoking, but their consequences on eating behavior dramatically depend on the specific implemented policy. Increasing excise taxes on tobacco decreases body weight and caloric intake, and it improves the quality of eaten food. Smoking bans, instead, do not significantly affect body weight, although they impact on the diet composition. Smoking bans in restaurants induce a significant rise in the quality of food and in daily caloric intake. Conversely, smoking bans in bars negatively affect the quality of the daily diet, as individuals eat more fats and less fibers, and drink more alcohol and caffeine.

Obesity and Smoking: Can We Catch Two Birds with One Tax?

“…In other words, smoking, eating and body weight are complements in the long-run. This outcome is consistent with recent empirical research suggesting that taxes on smoking have likely determined a decrease in body weight (Courtemanche, 2009;Wehby and Courtemanche, 2012) and in food intake (Dragone et al, 2013). Accordingly, antismoking policies not only have reduced smoking prevalence in the population, but also obesity.…”

“…the possibility for the policy maker to implement a single policy action which curbs both smoking and obesity. This result provides a rationale for those empirical papers emphasizing the role of antismoking policies in the reduction of obesity (Gruber and Frakes, 2006;Courtemanche, 2009;Wehby and Courtemanche, 2012;Dragone et al, 2013), and it opens the way to further research on policies that accomplish multiple goals with a single policy tool.…”

“…In line with the common wisdom and the medical evidence that nicotine boosts metabolism and reduces appetite, some studies find that a raise in cigarette prices and in excises on tobacco increases average body mass index (BMI) in the population (Chou et al, 2004;Rashad and Grossman, 2004;Rashad et al, 2006;Baum, 2009). Other papers point to the opposite direction, finding that an increase in cigarette prices decreases BMI (Gruber and Frakes, 2006;Courtemanche, 2009;Wehby and Courtemanche, 2012;Dragone et al, 2013), which would instead support the conclusion that smoking and obesity are complements, rather than substitutes.…”

“…Focusing on the effect of increases in the prices of cigarettes, Chou et al (2004), Rashad and Grossman (2004), Rashad et al (2006), Baum (2009) show that quitting smoking is associated with increased body weight, while Gruber and Frakes (2006), Courtemanche (2009), Wehby and Courtemanche (2012) arrive at the opposite conclusion. Using detailed clinical data on individual health, smoking, and dietary habits, in a companion paper (Dragone et al, 2013) we show that increasing excise taxes on tobacco decreases body weight and caloric intake and improves the quality of eaten food.…”

The Demand for Cigarettes as Derived from the Demand for Weight Loss: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation

“…Several of these studies conclude that higher cigarette taxes are associated with higher body mass index (BMI) or rates of obesity (e.g., Chou et al ., ; Rashad et al ., ; Baum, ). However, others find the opposite: that higher cigarette taxes are associated with lower BMI or obesity (Gruber and Frakes, ; Courtemanche, ; Wehby and Courtemanche, ; Dragone et al ., ). The difference in results appears to be driven in part by differences in the way the studies control for time trends (Baum, ; Nonnemaker et al ., ) and differences in controlling for lags of prices or taxes (Courtemanche, ).…”