The Long-Term Impact of In-Utero Cigarette Taxes on Adult Prenatal Smoking

80 Pages Posted: 3 Sep 2021 Last revised: 1 Dec 2022

See all articles by Lauren Hoehn-Velasco

Lauren Hoehn-Velasco

Georgia State University - Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

Michael Pesko

University of Missouri - Department of Economics

Serena Phillips

Georgia State University

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: November 1, 2022

Abstract

This study examines the long-term link between in-utero cigarette taxes and adult prenatal smoking. We use U.S. birth certificate records to demonstrate that exposure to higher in-utero cigarette taxes (over 1965-2001) reduces later-life adult pre-pregnancy and prenatal smoking. We also show that higher in-utero cigarette taxes have long-lasting effects on adult health, and intergenerational consequences for infant health. Finally, we demonstrate that larger in-utero tax responsiveness correlates with smaller contemporary cigarette tax responsiveness, suggesting that higher in-utero taxes may alter the composition of remaining smokers and contribute to reductions in contemporary cigarette tax responsiveness.

Note:
Funding Information: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01DA045016 (PI: Pesko).

Declaration of Interests: Dr. Pesko reports separate funding exceeding $10,000 over the past three years from the American Cancer Society, University of Kentucky’s Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise, and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Dr. Pesko is an executive board member of the Tobacco Online Policy Seminar. Dr. Phillips reports separate funding exceeding $10,000 over the past three years from the American Cancer Society. No other authors have anything to disclose.

Keywords: Prenatal smoking, cigarette taxes, long-term, early-life influences, human capital

JEL Classification: I12, I18, H71, H75

Suggested Citation

Hoehn-Velasco, Lauren and Pesko, Michael and Phillips, Serena, The Long-Term Impact of In-Utero Cigarette Taxes on Adult Prenatal Smoking (November 1, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3900151 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3900151

Lauren Hoehn-Velasco (Contact Author)

Georgia State University - Andrew Young School of Policy Studies ( email )

Department of Economics
35 Broad Street, 6th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083
United States

Michael Pesko

University of Missouri - Department of Economics ( email )

USA

Serena Phillips

Georgia State University ( email )

35 Broad Street
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083
United States

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