Compensating behaviors, regret, and heterogeneity in the dynamics of smoking behavior

This paper studied smoking behavior in the context of the interactions among health, smoking, exercise and seeking medical care using a microeconomic model. Based on a dynamic optimal choice theory, a simultaneous equation system was used in the empirical estimation. This study found that smokers with longer smoking history tend to have extra incentives to maintain or improve their health. It was found that they tend to use more medical services and to be more active in exercise than smokers with shorter smoking history. Health status nonlinearly affects smoking decisions. Quitting incentives can be "curative" or "preventive", depending on one's health status. Light smokers' addiction is qualitatively and quantitatively different from heavy smokers'.