Increase in minimum wage results in lower occurrence of smoking, says study
Posted on: 10/Aug/2015 10:06:12 AM
Researchers from the Centre for healthcare Policy and Research at the University of California at Davis have said that one more way to make employees quit smoking is by raising wages. Smoking in and around the workplace is banned in many places around the world.
The team studied data on full time employees aged between 21 and 65 years from the time period between 1999 and 2009. The study was based on wages, smoking status and state of residence in the US. They did not study those who had never smoked. Their research was conducted based on a statistical model called Instrumental Variables Analysis. This model is usually used to study effectiveness of a treatment of a disease or condition.
The study showed that those whose wages increased every subsequent year resulted in reduction of smoking. This was especially in men and those who were less educated than the rest of the group. The overall result showed that smoking was less prevalent in states that offered higher minimum wages or higher number of employee unions.
Say researchers, The percentage of workers in low-paying jobs has been growing nationwide... Increasing the minimum wage could have a big impact on a significant health threat... We assume that people begin smoking for reasons other than wages. About 90 per cent of smokers in the United States started smoking before age 20, so the data captured a sample of most full-time workers who have ever smoked.
