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Source: Tobacco Control - On-line
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Zagorsky, Jay L.
The Wealth Effects of Smoking
Tobacco Control 13,4 (December 2004): 370-374.
Also: http://tc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/13/4/370
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group, Ltd. - British Medical Journal Publishing Group
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Economic Well-Being; Ethnic Differences; I.Q.; Modeling, Multilevel; Racial Differences; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Objective: To investigate the impact of smoking on the wealth of US young baby boomers. Methodology: The research analyses self reported responses of both smoking habits and wealth holdings from a nationally representative sample of US individuals born between 1957 to 1964 (n = 8908). Data are from four waves (1984, 1992, 1994, 1998) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort, a random survey of individuals conducted by the US Department of Labor using a stratified multistage area sample design. Results: Regression results show lower net worth is associated with smoking, after holding constant a variety of demographic factors. Respondents who were ever heavy smokers are associated with a reduction in net worth of over $8300 while light smokers are $2000 poorer compared to non-smokers. Beyond this reduction, each adult year of smoking is associated with a decrease in net worth of $410 or almost 4%. Conclusions: While a causal relation cannot be proven, smokers appear to pay for tobacco expenditures out of income that is saved by non-smokers. Hence, reductions in smoking will boost wealth, especially among the poor.
Bibliography Citation
Zagorsky, Jay L. "The Wealth Effects of Smoking." Tobacco Control 13,4 (December 2004): 370-374.