The Effect of Cigarette Excise Taxes on Smoking Before, During and After Pregnancy

Greg Coleman, Michael Grossman, Ted Joyce

NBER Working Paper No. 9245
Issued in October 2002
NBER Program(s):Children, Health Economics

Recent analyses suggest that cigarette excise taxes lower prenatal smoking. It is unclear, however, whether the association between taxes and prenatal smoking represents a decline among women of reproductive age or a particular response by pregnant women. We address this question directly with an analysis of quit and relapse behavior during and after pregnancy. We find that the price elasticity of prenatal quitting and postpartum relapse is close to one in absolute value. We conclude that direct financial incentives to stop smoking during and after pregnancy should be considered.

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Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w9245

Published: Colman, Greg & Grossman, Michael & Joyce, Ted, 2003. "The effect of cigarette excise taxes on smoking before, during and after pregnancy," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 1053-1072, November. citation courtesy of