Revisiting the Effects of Tobacco Retailer Compliance Inspections on Youth Tobacco Use

B-Tier
Journal: American Journal of Health Economics
Year: 2019
Volume: 5
Issue: 4
Pages: 509-532

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We evaluate the effect of the first six years of the Food and Drug Administration's compliance check program, which includes underage buyer “sting” inspections, on youth cigarette purchasing and tobacco use patterns. Abouk and Adams (2017b) studied the first three years of the program using Monitoring the Future and found evidence that the program changed purchasing patterns and decreased cigarette use among underage 12th graders. We nearly triple the number of inspections we evaluate by studying the first six years of the program and find mostly null results. We also find null results when broadening the sample to include all underage youth and when using two additional data sources (National Youth Tobacco Survey and Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System). We speculate possible reasons for the program's ineffectiveness, including that underage decoys are prohibited from both lying about their age and using fake identification.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:amjhec:v:5:y:2019:i:4:p:509-532
Journal Field
Health
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29