Many states and localities have either recently enacted or are considering bans on smoking in restaurants, making this one of the most active areas of tobacco control policy. The proposed research is an innovative econometric study of the impact of restaurant smoking bans. It will make novel use of large national secondary data sets to explore under-studied questions about how restaurant smoking bans affect consumers of restaurant foods. It will also be the first to conduct an integrated study of the bans'impacts on both restaurant-going and smoking behaviors. The integrated approach will allow the study to capture the multiple margins on which smokers can adjust their behaviors in reaction to the bans. To meet its broad goal, the project has two specific aims.
Specific Aim 1 is to estimate the impact of restaurant smoking bans on consumers'restaurant-going and smoking behaviors. To meet this aim, the project will use data from multiple waves of the Simmons National Consumer Survey (NCS) from 1996 - 2007. The combined waves of the NCS provide detailed information on the consumer behavior of a nation- wide sample of about 200,000 adults. The project will use individual-level NCS data on the following consumer behaviors: the number of visits during the past 30 days to specific family restaurants and in total;the number of visits during the past 30 days to specific fast food restaurants and in total;time spent eating out;the number of cigarettes smoked per day by current smokers;past-year cessation attempt;and past-year successful cessation. The project will estimate econometric reduced-form demand functions for restaurant-going and smoking. The explanatory variables in the demand functions will include smoking bans, prices, and other demand shifters.
Specific Aim 2 is to estimate the impact of restaurant smoking bans on household expenditures for food away from home and on household expenditures for cigarettes. To meet this aim, the project will use data from multiple waves of the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES). The combined waves of the CES from 1996 - 2007 will provide a nationally representative sample of about 90,000 households. The project will use household-level CES data on: expenditures on food away from home;and expenditures on cigarettes. The project will estimate econometric reduced-form demand functions for expenditures for food away from home and expenditures on cigarettes. The explanatory variables in the demand functions will include smoking bans, prices, and other demand shifters.
Restaurant smoking bans are intended to reduce secondhand smoke exposure for both the customers and employees of restaurants, and they might also discourage smoking more generally. The public health impact of the bans depends partly on their impact on smokers'and nonsmoker's consumption of restaurant food. The proposed project will conduct an integrated study of the impact of the bans on consumer behavior.
