So You Want to Quit Smoking : Have You Tried a Mobile Phone?
Tobacco use, which is rising quickly in developing countries, kills 5.4 million people a year worldwide. This paper explores the impacts of mobile phone ownership on tobacco consumption. Indeed, mobile phone ownership could affect tobacco consumpti...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/06/9608509/so-want-quit-smoking-tried-mobile-phone http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6862 |
| Summary: | Tobacco use, which is rising quickly in
developing countries, kills 5.4 million people a year
worldwide. This paper explores the impacts of mobile phone
ownership on tobacco consumption. Indeed, mobile phone
ownership could affect tobacco consumption because
individuals might pay for their communication with money
they would have spent on tobacco. Using panel data from
2,100 households in 135 communities of the Philippines
collected in 2003 and 2006, the analysis finds that mobile
phone ownership leads to a 20 percent decline in monthly
tobacco consumption. Among households in which at least one
member smoked in 2003, purchasing a mobile phone leads to a
32.6 percent decrease in tobacco consumption per adult over
the age of 15. This is equivalent to one less pack of 20
cigarettes per month per adult. The results are robust to
various estimation strategies. Further, they suggest that
this impact materializes through a budget shift from tobacco
to communication. |
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