Catching the habit: a study of inequality of opportunity in smoking-related mortality

TY - JOUR

T1 - Catching the habit

T2 - a study of inequality of opportunity in smoking-related mortality

AU - Balia, S.

AU - Jones, A.M.

N1 - M1 - 1

PY - 2011/1

Y1 - 2011/1

N2 - The paper presents a latent factor model for initiation of smoking, cessation and mortality using the British Health and Lifestyle Survey. This allows us to investigate inequality of opportunity in risk of mortality, focusing on the intergenerational transmission of smoking. We find that the hazard of mortality is higher for current and former smokers relative to never smokers. Furthermore we find that parental smoking plays an important role in the dynamics of smoking and indirectly affects mortality. Predictions derived from the model show that inequality in mortality decreases if individuals adopt the best level of effort (not smoking) or if circumstances are favourable (if parents are non-smokers).

AB - The paper presents a latent factor model for initiation of smoking, cessation and mortality using the British Health and Lifestyle Survey. This allows us to investigate inequality of opportunity in risk of mortality, focusing on the intergenerational transmission of smoking. We find that the hazard of mortality is higher for current and former smokers relative to never smokers. Furthermore we find that parental smoking plays an important role in the dynamics of smoking and indirectly affects mortality. Predictions derived from the model show that inequality in mortality decreases if individuals adopt the best level of effort (not smoking) or if circumstances are favourable (if parents are non-smokers).

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78650868237&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/j.1467-985X.2010.00654.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1467-985X.2010.00654.x

M3 - Article

SN - 0964-1998

VL - 174

SP - 175

EP - 194

JO - Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society)

JF - Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society)

IS - 1

ER -