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Title: The Impact of Clean Air Policies on Smoking Among a National Longitudinal Panel of U.S. Young Adults
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Vuolo, Mike
Kelly, Brian
Kadowaki, Joy
The Impact of Clean Air Policies on Smoking Among a National Longitudinal Panel of U.S. Young Adults
Presented: Dublin, Ireland, Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies (SLLS) International Conference, October 2015
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies
Keyword(s): Geocoded Data; Life Course; Smoking (see Cigarette Use); State-Level Data/Policy

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Restrictions on smoking in public places has become a major global public health initiative over the past decade. To assess their impact, we examine the effect of comprehensive clean air policies on the prob ability of young adult cigarette use from ages 19-32 across the U.S. We combine a database of every tobacco policy among states and cities with the geocoded National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, an annual nationally representative survey of adolescents aged 12-16 during 1997 (n=8,984). In this respect, we trace the impact of these clean-air policies from adolescence through young adulthood. Using a multilevel panel model, we find that comprehensive clean air policies lower the odds of any smoking (OR=0.788, p<.05) and smoking a pack per day (OR=0.652, p<.01) during the past 30 days, while controlling for numerous other factors at both the city and individual levels. Taking advantage of longitudinal policy data, we decompose policy into within-and between-person effects, finding that the effect on any smoking has a within-person effect; that is, a clean air policy affects a given person's odds of any smoking over time (OR=0.774, p<.05). By contrast, we see a between-person effect on daily pack smoking, such that policies distinguish between individuals who smoke at this level (OR=0.428, p<.01), but do not affect a specific person's use. We situate these findings within Bird and Rieker’s (2008) Constrained Choices framework, which states that decisions and priorities concerning health are shaped by the contexts, including policy, community, and work and family, in which they are formulated. We demonstrate that policies restricting public smoking influence tobacco use over time even in the face of proximal constraints. Further, the results underscore the efficacy of clean air policies on young adult smoking behaviors throughout a critical point in the life course.
Bibliography Citation
Vuolo, Mike, Brian Kelly and Joy Kadowaki. "The Impact of Clean Air Policies on Smoking Among a National Longitudinal Panel of U.S. Young Adults." Presented: Dublin, Ireland, Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies (SLLS) International Conference, October 2015.