Smoking and Mental Health: An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Smoking Regulations and Cigarette Use

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between smoking and mental health. More specifically, it analyzes the effects of smoking regulations and smoking on the mental health of U.S. adults, using BRFSS data from 2000 to 2015. While many scholars have found that reductions in smoking typically improve physical health, sparse information exists regarding the effects of smoking, and smoking bans, on mental health. Using a series of difference-in-differences models, the first part of my analysis finds that statewide smoking bans result in poorer self-reported mental health, especially for smokers. The second part of my analysis estimates the effects of smoking on mental health, using the state-level cigarette tax as an instrumental variable. Using a series of two-stage least squares IV models, I find significant results that being a current smoker decreases an individual's average number of poor mental health days. Similarly, when looking at a sample of smokers only, being a heavy smoker decreases the probability of reporting poor mental health. These results reveal interesting conclusions that while restrictive smoking regulations are effective in reducing smoking participation rates, attempts at decreasing smoking may actually have negative implications on mental health.