Lighting Up and Slimming Down: The Effects of Body Weight and Cigarette Prices on Adolescent Smoking Initiation

31 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 2003 Last revised: 18 Aug 2022

See all articles by John Cawley

John Cawley

Cornell University - College of Human Ecology, Department of Policy Analysis & Management (PAM); Cornell University - College of Arts & Sciences, Department of Economics; Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Economics (ESE); University of Galway - J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics; NBER; IZA

Sara Markowitz

Emory University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

John A. Tauras

University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: March 2003

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of body weight, body image, and cigarette prices in determining adolescent smoking initiation. Adolescents who desire to lose weight may initiate smoking as a method of appetite control. Such behavior may undermine the goals of tobacco control policies that seek to prevent smoking initiation. Using a nationally representative panel of adolescents, we show that smoking initiation is more likely among females who are overweight, who report trying to lose weight, or who describe themselves as overweight. In contrast, neither objective nor subjective measures of weight predict smoking initiation by males. Higher cigarette prices decrease the probability of smoking initiation among males but have no impact on female smoking initiation. These gender-specific differences may help explain the mixed and inconclusive evidence of the impact of price on smoking initiation found in previous literature

Suggested Citation

Cawley, John and Markowitz, Sara and Tauras, John A., Lighting Up and Slimming Down: The Effects of Body Weight and Cigarette Prices on Adolescent Smoking Initiation (March 2003). NBER Working Paper No. w9561, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=387569

John Cawley (Contact Author)

Cornell University - College of Human Ecology, Department of Policy Analysis & Management (PAM) ( email )

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