recent, if compared to the US and the issue of whether they have been effective in reducing smoking is still under debate. Different studies on this topic produced mixed conclusions, finding no effects in some countries, Germany, England and Scotland, while other works highlighted positive effects, e.g., Italy. A related literature focused on the effects of such legislation on variables correlated with smoking. Objectives Our study aims also to evaluate the spillover effects of smoking ban on alcohol consumption, which is generally found as a complementary good to smoking. Methods We use a regression discontinuity (RD) approach to evaluate the effect of the smoking ban for Italy. We exploit the discontinuity introduced in smoking measures from the Clean Indoor Air Law (CIAL) implemented in Italy as from the 10st January 2005, which prohibits smoking in all public places as well as in pubs and restaurants. We evaluate the impact of CIAL on different groups of the population, testing whether the law was able to reduce smoking and alcohol related habits especially for those individuals with higher mortality rates associated to these habits. Results We find that the CIAL had a significant impact and was able to reduce the amount of cigarettes smoked by 0.56 units (95 % CI = 0.424–0.696) and the percentage of smokers by 2.48 % (95 % CI = 1.676–3.284). Alcohol consumption showed also negative patterns, especially considering the percentage of people drinking beer, which reduced by 0.86 % (95 % CI = 0.476–1.236) and bitters or spirits, who decreased respectively by 0.72 % (95 % CI = 0.321–1.125) and 0.27 % (95 % CI = 0.067–0.457). The categories which have been affected the most by the reform are those of males, unemployed, low educated, and people living in the North of Italy. Conclusions The smoking ban had a relevant influence in reducing smoking and alcohol behaviors among Italians. The intervention was especially relevant for sub-categories of the population traditionally associated to higher mortality rates related with alcohol and smoking. This suggests the areas of interventions for policy-makers to obtain gains from anti-smoking policies.
The role of smoking bans on cigarettes and alcohol habits in Italy
PIERONI, Luca;CHIAVARINI, Manuela;MINELLI, Liliana;
2012
Abstract
recent, if compared to the US and the issue of whether they have been effective in reducing smoking is still under debate. Different studies on this topic produced mixed conclusions, finding no effects in some countries, Germany, England and Scotland, while other works highlighted positive effects, e.g., Italy. A related literature focused on the effects of such legislation on variables correlated with smoking. Objectives Our study aims also to evaluate the spillover effects of smoking ban on alcohol consumption, which is generally found as a complementary good to smoking. Methods We use a regression discontinuity (RD) approach to evaluate the effect of the smoking ban for Italy. We exploit the discontinuity introduced in smoking measures from the Clean Indoor Air Law (CIAL) implemented in Italy as from the 10st January 2005, which prohibits smoking in all public places as well as in pubs and restaurants. We evaluate the impact of CIAL on different groups of the population, testing whether the law was able to reduce smoking and alcohol related habits especially for those individuals with higher mortality rates associated to these habits. Results We find that the CIAL had a significant impact and was able to reduce the amount of cigarettes smoked by 0.56 units (95 % CI = 0.424–0.696) and the percentage of smokers by 2.48 % (95 % CI = 1.676–3.284). Alcohol consumption showed also negative patterns, especially considering the percentage of people drinking beer, which reduced by 0.86 % (95 % CI = 0.476–1.236) and bitters or spirits, who decreased respectively by 0.72 % (95 % CI = 0.321–1.125) and 0.27 % (95 % CI = 0.067–0.457). The categories which have been affected the most by the reform are those of males, unemployed, low educated, and people living in the North of Italy. Conclusions The smoking ban had a relevant influence in reducing smoking and alcohol behaviors among Italians. The intervention was especially relevant for sub-categories of the population traditionally associated to higher mortality rates related with alcohol and smoking. This suggests the areas of interventions for policy-makers to obtain gains from anti-smoking policies.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
