British journal of addiction
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This paper examines U. S. tobacco taxation, the effect of cigarette taxes on smoking and on the health effects of smoking, and equity and efficiency considerations that arise when cigarette excise taxes are used to reduce smoking. Cigarette excise taxes, imposed by the Federal Government, all State governments, and nearly 400 cities and counties, add approximately 34 cents per pack to the price of cigarettes. ⋯ An estimated 100,000 additional persons may live to the age of 65 as a result of doubling the Federal cigarette tax in 1983. Because cigarette taxes are regressive and are borne primarily by smokers, inequities may arise when they are used to reduce smoking. Success in achieving a tobacco-free society will require that tobacco taxes be replaced with alternative sources of revenue.
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This paper is concerned with the use of economic models in the debate about the role that tax increases and restrictions on advertising should play in reducing the health problems that arise from the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. It is argued that properly specified demand models that take account of all the important factors that influence consumption are required, otherwise inadequate modelling may lead to misleading estimates of the effects of policy changes. The ability of economics to deal with goods such as alcohol and tobacco that have addictive characteristics receives special attention. Recent advances in economic theory, estimation techniques and statistical testing are discussed, as is the problem of identifying policy recommendations from empirical results.
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This article shows the contribution of economics to debates about prevention policy. The arguments used by various pressure groups favouring or opposing more effective prevention policies need to be subject to critical scrutiny and empirical testing. ⋯ The supply side of the market in the form of the alcohol and tobacco industries is analysed using a structure-performance framework. Consideration is given to how firms might respond to prevention policies through, say, lobbying or shifting higher taxes to suppliers or by diversifying into new markets.
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After several decades absence, opium smoking has reappeared in the U. S. ⋯ In addition, the factors contributing to a fertile situation for opium addiction are presented. Finally, implications of these findings and remedial recommendations are suggested.