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Self-control and support for anti-smoking policies among smokers, ex smokers, and never smokers

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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 formalize 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. Subsequently, we specify econometric models that allow us to test the implications of such conjecture using information on smoking behavior at the individual level from the Catalan Health Survey of 2006. The empirical results support our conjecture 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.

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Notes

  1. But note that this framework also highlights the potential of reducing the disutility of quitting, i.e., increasing Q, by means of quitting aids such as nicotine patches etc.

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Acknowledgments

Support from Ministerio de Educación project ECO2008-06395-C05-04, co-funded by European Regional Development Fund, and from Fundación Séneca through project 08646/PHCS/08 is gratefully acknowledged. We also thank two anonymous referees for useful comments and suggestions. The usual disclaimer applies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Economía, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, C/Real, 3, 30201, Cartagena, Spain

    Lourdes Badillo Amador & Ángel López Nicolás

  2. Centre de Recerca en Economia i Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Ramon Trias Fargas, 25–27, 08005, Barcelona, Spain

    Ángel López Nicolás

Authors
  1. Lourdes Badillo Amador
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  2. Ángel López Nicolás
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Correspondence to Ángel López Nicolás.

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Badillo Amador, L., López Nicolás, Á. Self-control and support for anti-smoking policies among smokers, ex smokers, and never smokers. Eur J Health Econ 14, 161–170 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-011-0356-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-011-0356-5

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