THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF TAX POLICY WHEN CONSIDERING MITIGATING FACTORS INFLUENCING TOBACCO CONSUMPTION OF AMERICAN YOUTH

The statistics are startling regarding tobacco consumption and cigarette use in the United States. In 1995, 46.5 million adults in the United States were smokers (“Targeting Tobacco Use: The Nation’s Leading Cause of Death, ” 2002). Despite the fact that as early as 1956 the Surgeon General determined that there was a causal relationship between excessive cigarette smoking and lung cancer (Historical Fact Sheet, 2000), tobacco use is higher than ever before. Unfortunately, the younger population appears not to have realized the negative impact that tobacco is having on their lives, as cigarette smoking among youth rose sharply in the 1990’s and still continues to rise today. Due to the fact that 34.8 percent of high school students were smokers in 1995 (“Targeting Tobacco Use: The Nation’s Leading Cause of Death, ” 2002), it is becoming extremely important to determine what efforts can be made to successfully reduce and eliminate tobacco use by minors. Previous research on this topic shows that increasing the excise tax of cigarettes is the most successful policy in reducing tobacco consumption of all ages, especially youth. Past studies have also determined that anti-tobacco advertising, as well as state restrictions on tobacco advertising, may also influence how many minors decide to use tobacc