Smoking and other Risky Behaviors

Abstract

To better understand the causes of smoking behavior, this paper examines the differences in risk-taking behavior by smokers in other domains. Smokers are less likely to perform preventive health activities such as seatbelt use, flossing, and checking their blood pressure. They choose riskier jobs, are more likely to be injured on their jobs controlling for objective measures of risk, are more likely to have an accident at home, and are more likely to have an accident overall. These choices do not stem from any greater economic payoff to smokers taking risks. Indeed, smokers are willing to work at hazardous jobs for less pay per unit risk than nonsmokers. On average, smokers place a monetary value on the risk of job injury that is roughly half that of nonsmokers. The greater risk taking of smokers reflects a broad pattern of behavior and is not restricted to smoking decisions.