The Volokh Conspiracy - A Question Many of Us Have Asked While Traveling:

"Why Do Europeans Smoke More than Americans?"

NBER Working Paper No. W12124

Contact: DAVID M. CUTLER Harvard University - Department of Economics, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Auth-Page: http://ssrn.com/author=42210

Co-Author: EDWARD L. GLAESER Harvard University - Department of Economics, John F. Kennedy School of Government, The Brookings Institution, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Auth-Page: http://ssrn.com/author=20261

Full Text: http://ssrn.com/abstract=893779

ABSTRACT: While Americans are less healthy than Europeans along some dimensions (like obesity), Americans are significantly less likely to smoke than their European counterparts. This difference emerged in the 1970s and it is biggest among the most educated. The puzzle becomes larger once we account for cigarette prices and anti-smoking regulations, which are both higher in Europe. There is a nonmonotonic relationship between smoking and income; among richer countries and people, higher incomes are associated with less smoking. This can account for about one-fifth of the U.S./Europe difference. Almost one-half of the smoking difference appears to be the result of differences in beliefs about the health effects of smoking; Europeans are generally less likely to think that cigarette smoking is harmful.

	[Todd Zywicki, May 30, 2006 at 1:29pm] Trackbacks A Question Many of Us Have Asked While Traveling: "Why Do Europeans Smoke More than Americans?" NBER Working Paper No. W12124 Contact: DAVID M. CUTLER Harvard University - Department of Economics, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Auth-Page: http://ssrn.com/author=42210 Co-Author: EDWARD L. GLAESER Harvard University - Department of Economics, John F. Kennedy School of Government, The Brookings Institution, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Auth-Page: http://ssrn.com/author=20261 Full Text: http://ssrn.com/abstract=893779 ABSTRACT: While Americans are less healthy than Europeans along some dimensions (like obesity), Americans are significantly less likely to smoke than their European counterparts. This difference emerged in the 1970s and it is biggest among the most educated. The puzzle becomes larger once we account for cigarette prices and anti-smoking regulations, which are both higher in Europe. There is a nonmonotonic relationship between smoking and income; among richer countries and people, higher incomes are associated with less smoking. This can account for about one-fifth of the U.S./Europe difference. Almost one-half of the smoking difference appears to be the result of differences in beliefs about the health effects of smoking; Europeans are generally less likely to think that cigarette smoking is harmful.