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α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
We study the impact of an information shock created by an outbreak of lung injuries apparently related to e‐cigarettes. We use data from multiple sources: surveys of risk perceptions conducted before, during, and after the outbreak; an in‐depth survey on risk perceptions and vaping and smoking behavior; and national aggregate time‐series sales data. We find that after the outbreak, consumer perceptions of the riskiness of e‐cigarettes sharply increased. From our estimated e‐cigarette demand models, we conclude that the information shock reduced e‐cigarette demand and the use of e‐cigarettes for smoking cessation by about 30 percent.