Issue: Summer 1996
Pages: pp. 415-248
Authors: Michael J. Moore
Title: Death and Tobacco Taxes
Abstract: This article analyzes the effects of tobacco excise tax changes on mortality. Reduced-form regressions of mortality rates on tobacco taxes for the years 1954-1988, with controls for state, year, income, alcoholic beverage taxes, age distribution, and unobserved health trends indicate that tax increases lead to statistically significant decreases in smoking-related mortality. Evidence on the complementary relationship between alcohol and tobacco as it relates to health outcomes is also presented. A 10% increase in the tobacco tax is projected to save over 5,000 lives a year.
Health Production: Nutrition, Mortality, Morbidity, Disability, and Economic Behavior (I120)
Business Taxes Including Sales and Value Added VAT (H250)
Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Household [effects on labor supply] (H310)
Economics of Health Including Medical Subsidy Programs (9130)
National Taxation, Revenue, and Subsidies (3230)
Microeconomic Theory, Theory of the Household, Consumer Demand (0222)