An Empirical Investigation of the Social Market for Cigarettes
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2007
Abstract
A major characteristic of teenage smoking is the ability to bum cigarettes from peers. To date, research into the determinants of teenage smoking has largely ignored the effects of this social market on the smoking decisions of teenagers. In this paper, we estimate the demand for cigarettes using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey which distinguishes teens who primarily buy cigarettes from those who primarily borrow cigarettes. Our results demonstrate the ways in which higher cigarette prices and restrictions on smoking influence not only a teen's decision to smoke and the quantity of cigarettes smoked, but also the manner in which cigarettes are acquired. We show that current cigarette regulations are ineffective in reaching the group of light smokers who primarily obtain cigarettes through the social market, thus indicating that alternative measures should be explored in an effort to reduce the number of smokers in the future.
Journal Title
Health Economics
Journal ISSN
1057-9230
Volume
16
Issue
10
First Page
1025
Last Page
1039
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1002/hec.1215