Tobacco Control Protocol and Household Smoking Behavior : The case of Bogotá, Colombia

Abstract

Understanding the effects of tobacco control policies on smoking prevalence is of great importance in public health. They may have effects on discouraging take-up, promoting smoking cessation, and enhancing healthy habits. This paper assesses the effect of a non-price related tobacco control policy, which has not been widely studied in low and middle-income countries, on smoking prevalence in Bogotá, Colombia. It also presents some transmission mechanisms of the impact of smoke-free environments on household smoking behavior. Using household and commercial activity data, this paper intends to estimate the effect of the policy on household smoking behavior by implementing a Difference-in-Differences strategy. Regarding that the law directly affects commercial areas and in this sense physical exposure of individuals to tobacco consumption, one would expect that people who are closer to commerce blocks would be less spatially exposed to tobacco use and experiencing lower advertising exposure after the implementation of the policy. It would lead to a reduction in prevalence as a result of smaller take-up habits, an increase in the cost of consumption in indoor spaces, and a reduction in utility derived from social consumption. It is found that smoking prevalence is reduced for households that are near highly dense commerce blocks, compared to households that are near to commercial places with low density, relative to far located households, after the implementation of the law. Since a near household will be exposed more frequently to compliance with the norm than a household that is far or less exposed to commercial activity, household members would be more willing to internalize the smoking de-normalization process and therefore, whoever is most exposed to compliance with the law will reduce the probability of being a smoker.