Drunk driving after the passage of smoking bans in bars

Using geographic variation in local and state smoke-free bar laws in the US, we observe an increase in fatal accidents involving alcohol following bans on smoking in bars that is not observed in places without bans. Although an increased accident risk might seem surprising at first, two strands of l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of public economics Vol. 92; no. 5; pp. 1288 - 1305
Main Authors Adams, Scott, Cotti, Chad
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 01.06.2008
Elsevier
SeriesJournal of Public Economics
Subjects
Alcohol
Drink-driving
Drunk driving
Legislation
Local government
Local government regulations
Smoking
Smoking bans
U.S.A
Smoking bans
K42
Local government regulations
H75
Drunk driving
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Summary:Using geographic variation in local and state smoke-free bar laws in the US, we observe an increase in fatal accidents involving alcohol following bans on smoking in bars that is not observed in places without bans. Although an increased accident risk might seem surprising at first, two strands of literature on consumer behavior suggest potential explanations — smokers driving longer distances to a bordering jurisdiction that allows smoking in bars and smokers driving longer distances within their jurisdiction to bars that still allow smoking, perhaps through non-compliance or outdoor seating. We find evidence consistent with both explanations. The increased miles driven by drivers wishing to smoke and drink offsets any reduction in driving from smokers choosing to stay home following a ban, resulting in increased alcohol-related accidents. This result proves durable, as we subject it to an extensive battery of robustness checks.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0047-2727
1879-2316
DOI:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2008.01.001