Smoking.

• Author: Van Doren, Peter
• Position: Working Papers: A SUMMARY OF RECENT PAPERS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO REGULATION'S READERS.

* "E-Cigarettes and Adult Smoking: Evidence from Minnesota," by Henry Saffer, Daniel Dench, Michael Grossman, and Dhaval Dave. December 2019. SSRN #3503054.

Minnesota became the first state to tax electronic cigarettes in August 2010, implementing a tax rate of 35%. The rate increased to 95% in July 2013. This study examines the effect of that tax on smoking and e-cigarette consumption using data from the Tobacco Use Supplement of the Current Population Survey for the years 1992-2015. The study compares smoking in Minnesota relative to a synthetic control group of all other states weighted to have consumption trends similar to Minnesota before 2010.

After the large tax increase on e-cigarettes, the rate at which traditional cigarette smoking declined in Minnesota was reduced relative to the synthetic control group. Traditional smoking...