ECIN Replication Package for "Misinformation, Consumer Risk Perceptions, and Markets: The Impact of an Information Shock on Vaping and Smoking Cessation"

This is a result replication package accompanying a paper, whose Abstract is the following.<br><b>ABSTRACT </b>Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. Because
e-cigarettes do not involve the combustion of tobacco, vaping offers the potential
to prevent the majority of the health consequences of smoking. We study the
impact of an information shock created by an outbreak of lung injuries apparently
related to e-cigarettes. We use data from multiple sources: surveys of risk
perceptions conducted before, during, and after the outbreak; an in-depth
survey we conducted on risk perceptions and vaping and smoking behavior; and
national aggregate time-series sales data. We find that after the outbreak,
consumer perceptions of the riskiness of e-cigarettes sharply increased, so
that in contrast to almost all experts, the majority of consumers perceive
e-cigarettes to be relatively and absolutely riskier than cigarettes. From our
estimated e-cigarette demand models, we conclude that the information shock
reduced e-cigarette demand by about 30 percent. We also estimate that the
information shock decreased the use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation,
again by about 30 percent. Our estimates predict that over time, the reduced
smoking cessation due to the information shock will in turn increase
smoking-related illness and death. <br>