Intended and Unintended Effects of E-cigarette Taxes on Youth Tobacco Use
Over the past decade, rising youth use of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) has contributed to aggressive regulation by state and local governments. Between 2010 and mid-2019, ten states and two large counties adopted ENDS taxes. We use two large national surveys (Monitoring the Future and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System) to estimate the impact of ENDS taxes on youth tobacco use. We find that ENDS taxes reduce youth ENDS consumption, with estimated ENDS tax elasticities of -0.06 to -0.21. However, we estimate sizable positive cigarette cross-tax effects, suggesting economic substitution between cigarettes and ENDS for youth. These substitution effects are particularly large for frequent cigarette smoking. We conclude that the unintended effects of ENDS taxation may considerably undercut or even outweigh any public health gains.
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Copy CitationRahi Abouk, Charles J. Courtemanche, Dhaval M. Dave, Bo Feng, Abigail S. Friedman, Johanna Catherine Maclean, Michael F. Pesko, Joseph J. Sabia, and Samuel Safford, "Intended and Unintended Effects of E-cigarette Taxes on Youth Tobacco Use," NBER Working Paper 29216 (2021), https://doi.org/10.3386/w29216.Download Citation
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Non-Technical Summaries
- Author(s): Rahi AboukCharles J. CourtemancheDhaval M. DaveBo FengAbigail S. FriedmanJohanna Catherine MacleanMichael F. PeskoJoseph J. SabiaSam SaffordAndrew I. FriedsonMoyan LiKatherine MeckelDaniel I. ReesDaniel W. SacksIn two recent NBER working papers, researchers use variation in the taxation of tobacco products — including both cigarettes and e-...
Published Versions
Rahi Abouk & Charles Courtemanche & Dhaval Dave & Bo Feng & Abigail S. Friedman & Johanna Catherine Maclean & Michael F. Pesko & Joseph J. Sabia & Samuel Safford, 2022. "Intended and Unintended Effects of E-cigarette Taxes on Youth Tobacco Use," Journal of Health Economics, . citation courtesy of 
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