The Effect of E-Cigarette Taxes on Pre-pregnancy and Prenatal Smoking
Working Paper 26126
DOI 10.3386/w26126
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E-cigarette taxes are an active area of legislation. The effect of e-cigarette taxes also has important regulatory implications by improving understanding of the effect of reducing commercial availability of e-cigarettes on smoking. We examine the effect of e-cigarette taxes on pre-pregnancy and prenatal smoking using the near-universe of births to mothers conceiving between 2013 and 2019. Using fixed effect regressions, we show that e-cigarette taxes increase pre-pregnancy and prenatal smoking. We also find evidence that e-cigarette taxes reduce pre-pregnancy and 3rd trimester e-cigarette use. Additionally, we show that e-cigarette taxes increase news coverage of e-cigarettes and raise perceptions of risk of e-cigarettes.