Tobacco use and asking prices of used cars: prevalence, costs, and new opportunities for changing smoking behavior

Secondhand smoke (SHS) contains more than 50 known human carcinogens and has recently been classified as toxic air contaminant [1,2]. SHS causes premature death and disease in children and adults, and the scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to SHS [1-3]. A growing number of local communities and states in the U.S. and in countries throughout the world are therefore adopting stricter policies to curb tobacco use in general and to reduce exposure to SHS exposure in particular [4-6].The introduction of stricter tobacco control policies is often accompanied by health education campaigns about the harmful effects of tobacco use on smokers and vulnerable groups of nonsmokers [7-10]. The ultimate goals of these efforts are to improve public health through changing personal smoking behavior, community standards, and attitudes toward tobacco use and SHS [2,8,11,12]. According to the 2006 National Health Interview Survey [13], however, steady declines in smoking rates since the 1960s appear to have stalled, remaining unchanged at 21% since 2004. Thus tobacco control efforts remain a high public health priority, requiring renewed efforts to further reduce tobacco use and SHS exposure.The present study examined the prevalence of tobacco use and asking prices of used cars in a community that has experienced extensive public health education campaigns since passing comprehensive statewide tobacco control legislation in 1988 [14]. We hypothesized that in such a community, smoke-free cars would be offered at a premium compared to smoker cars, controlling for other factors influencing the value of a car. If this is the case, future research may be warranted to better understand the effects of tobacco use on the value of personal property and how such consumer preferences could help further reduce tobacco use and SHS exposure.Compared to research on smoking restrictions in the workplace, restaurants, and at home, relatively little is known about