Essays on Health and Economics of Tobacco Control Policies

This dissertation explores the impact of tobacco control policies through two essays. The first evaluates state-level Tobacco 21 (T21) laws on maternal smoking and birth outcomes using birth certificate data from the National Center for Health Statistics (2014–2019). Employing difference-in-differences and triple-differences models, I compare pregnant persons aged 18–20 in T21 states to those in non-T21 states and to older peers aged 21–23. Results show T21 laws don't significantly affect smoking initiation during pregnancy but reduce smoking intensity by 6–9%, with robust findings across alternative specifications including the Callaway and Sant'Anna (2021) method. While T21 laws show no significant impacts on birth outcomes in the full population, among smokers they are associated with a 2–3 percentage point increase in premature births and a 2–3 percentage point decline in Cesarean deliveries. The second essay estimates Indiana's optimal cigarette tax range of $1.91-$22.12 per pack following Gruber and Koszegi's (2004, 2008) framework that incorporates both external and internal costs. Using the REMI model to simulate economic effects, I find moderate tax increases up to $7 per pack generate positive outcomes for employment, GDP, and personal income over a 20-year horizon, suggesting cigarette tax increases could simultaneously improve public health and strengthen Indiana's economy.