- Author
- Ruegg, R. T. | Weber, S. F. | Lippiatt, B. C. | Fuller, S. K.
- Title
- Improving the Fire Safety of Cigarettes: An Economic Impact Analysis. Volume 4. Technical Study Group Cigarette Safety Act of 1984.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD Technical Study Group Cigarette Safety Act of 1984
- Report
- Volume 4, October 1987, 97 p.
- Keywords
- cigarettes
- Identifiers
- consumer products
- Abstract
- In response to requirements of the Cigarette Safety Act of 1984, this report investigates potential economic impacts of modifying cigarettes to reduce their ignition propensity. It identifies impacts which appear likely to result from altering major physical characteristics of cigarettes: tobacco blend, paper, and size. It develops a quantitative model for estimating first- and second-order impacts. First-order impacts are changes in smoking-related fire loses, including estimates of the change in lives (and life years) lost, injuries incurred, and property damage. Second-order impacts are changes which may result if modifying the ignition propensity of cigarettes inadvertently modifies other cigarette attributes. The following second-order impacts are estimated by the model: cigarette industry impacts, including changes in the price of cigarettes, cigarette sales volume, and industry revenue; tobacco farming impacts, including changes in the price of tobacco, tobacco sales volume, and farm revenue; smoking related health impacts, including changes in lifetime medical costs and life expectancies; consumer surplus impacts; employment impacts; and excise tax revenue impacts. A number of case analyses are performed, quantitative results are presented, and implications of the findings are discussed.