Taxes, Cigarette Consumption, and Smoking Intensity: Comment

摘要

Previous studies have consistently found that increases in cigarette prices and taxes lead to lower consumption of cigarettes, as measured by both (i) the percentage of smokers and (ii) the number of cigarettes per day consumed by smokers.1 From a public-health perspective, the effectiveness of higher excise taxes on cigarettes also depends upon the extent to which smokers exhibit "compensatory behavior" that may partially or fully offset the lower quantity of cigarettes being smoked. For instance, Evans and Farrelly (1998) and Farrelly et al. (2004) find that cigarette tax increases cause individuals to purchase cigarettes that contain more tar and nicotine. In a recent contribution to this journal, Adda and Cornaglia (2006) (AC hereafter) find that tax increases are associated with lower cigarette consumption but, consistent with the notion of compensatory behavior, find no such association with nicotine intake.