José Julián Escario

Testing for the rational addiction hypothesis in Spanish tobacco consumption

This paper tests whether tobacco consumption generates addiction in Spanish people and, if so, then whether such addiction can be explained in the context of rational addiction theory. To that end, time-series data of per-capita consumption and prices of tobacco during the period 1964 to 1995 are employed. The results show the addictive and rational character of Spanish tobacco consumption, which implies that smokers fall into addiction after a maximization process of the utility that was obtained during their total lifetime, taking into account the future consequences of current decisions.

Addiction and Other Reasons Adolescent Smokers Give to Justify Smoking

Background: The primary purpose of this paper is to examine youth addiction and other justifications for adolescent smoking, and how they affect the level of consumption. Methods: Data from the Spanish ‘State Survey on Drug Use among High School Students’ aged between 14 and 18 years old were used in this paper. To account for the nature of the cigarette consumption data, several count data models were estimated in order to select the one that best fits adolescent smoking consumption. Results: Most adolescent smokers smoke because it relaxes them, and about a quarter of them recognize that they are addicted. Moreover, the latter group smoke 44% more cigarettes than the rest (IRR = 1.444), revealing the strong addictive nature of tobacco, even at early ages. Moreover, parents’ smoking increases the probability of smoking and has an impact on the level of consumption. Conclusions: The implications of these findings offer insight for parents, researchers, educators, and cessation interventionists, as awareness of self-reported and other predictors held by smoking youth creates a vantage point to facilitate changes in smoking behavior.

Estimating anticipated and nonanticipated demand elasticities for cigarettes in Spain

This paper will test whether tobacco consumption generates addiction in Spanish people. If this is the case, can such addiction be explained in the context of rational addiction theory? Elasticities are also obtained in the cases where price variations can be anticipated or, by contrast, where they cannot. The results first reveal the addictive and rational character of Spanish tobacco consumption. With respect to estimated demand elasticities, we find the expected results, namely that the anticipated values are higher than the nonanticipated values and that the long-run effects are also higher than the short-run effects.

Visibility of smoking among school­teachers in Spain and associations with student smoking: a cross-sectional study

Objective Limited research has examined the association between smoking among schoolteachers and student smoking. This paper seeks to assess whether smoking visibility on school grounds among schoolteachers is associated with student smoking. We examine both smoking behaviour and the number of cigarettes consumed. Methods We use a school-based cross-sectional survey carried out by the Spanish Government’s Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs. A total of 27 503 students between 14 and 18 years of age completed an anonymous survey in 2013. Count data regressions were used to assess the association between observed teacher smoking and adolescent smoking behaviour. Results High levels of visibility of teacher smoking on school grounds increased the odds of being a smoker among students (OR=2.09 and OR=1.64, for the highest levels of visibility), but the impact on the quantity of cigarettes smoked, although positive, was not significant. Conclusion Teacher smoking on school grounds is associated with student smoking behaviour. Consequently, smoking policies designed to prevent adolescent smoking should address this important social environment.