TY  - JOUR
AU  - Markowitz,Sara
TI  - The Effectiveness of Cigarette Regulations in Reducing Cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 12527
PY  - 2006
Y2  - September 2006
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12527
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12527.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Sara Markowitz
Department of Economics
Emory University
1602 Fishburne Dr.
Atlanta, GA 30322
Tel: (404) 712-8167
E-Mail: sara.markowitz@emory.edu
AB  - Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a leading cause of mortality among infants and is responsible for thousands of infant deaths every year.  Prenatal smoking and postnatal environmental smoke have been identified as strong risk factors for SIDS.  Given the link between smoking and SIDS, this paper examines the direct effects of cigarette prices, taxes and clean indoor air laws in explaining changes in the incidence of SIDS over time in the United States.  State-level counts of SIDS cases are generated from death certificates for 1973 to 2003.  After controlling for some observed and unobserved confounding factors, the results show that higher cigarette prices and taxes are associated with reductions in SIDS cases.  Stronger restrictions on smoking in restaurants and child care centers are also effective in reducing SIDS deaths.
ER  -