How Do COVID-19 Closure Policies Change Smoking Behaviors: The Role of Altruism, Personalities, and Attitudes

36 Pages Posted: 5 Apr 2022

See all articles by Weicheng Cai

Weicheng Cai

Peking University

Yi Zhou

Peking University

Date Written: April 3, 2022

Abstract

This study examines if people smoke more under Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) closure policies when trapped at home with their families. In such circumstances, the pleasure from smoking may be more tempting than usual. At the same time, smokers’ families are more likely to be victims of passive smoking. This study uses temporal and regional variations in policies strength with data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker project (OxCGRT) for to examine the impact of COVID-19 closure policies on smoking behaviors. With longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2018 and 2020, we find diminished smoking behaviors of Chinese male adults when the government implements strict public health policies for the COVID-19 pandemic. people with more conscientiousness personality traits and pro-family attitudes tend to smoke less when policy stringency increases.

Keywords: COVID-19, Smoking, Public health policy, Family altruism, Personality

JEL Classification: D12, D62, I12, I18, H41

Suggested Citation

Cai, Weicheng and Zhou, Yi, How Do COVID-19 Closure Policies Change Smoking Behaviors: The Role of Altruism, Personalities, and Attitudes (April 3, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4073693 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4073693

Weicheng Cai

Peking University ( email )

No. 38 Xueyuan Road
Haidian District
Beijing, 100871
China

Yi Zhou (Contact Author)

Peking University ( email )

5 Yiheyuan Road
Haidian District
Beijing, 100871
China

HOME PAGE: http://www.yizhoudemog.net

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