Public policy and youth smokeless tobacco use

Much is known about the effects of prices and tobacco control policies on cigarette smoking, but little is known about their impact on smokeless tobacco use. This paper uses data from the Monitoring the Future Surveys, augmented with tobacco tax and policy-related measures, to estimate smokeless tobacco demand equations for young males. The estimates indicate that higher smokeless tobacco taxes would significantly reduce the number of young men using smokeless tobacco and the frequency of smokeless tobacco use. In addition, the estimates imply that strong limits on youth access to tobacco products reduce smokeless tobacco use by young males.