Prevention Matters

Economic Inquiry has some interesting articles on the vices of drinking and smoking:

• Nationwide adoption of a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) appears to have had only a minor impact on teen drinking and traffic fatalities. Even in early-adopting states, the impact of the MLDA did not persist much past the year of adoption.
• Fraternity membership significantly increases drinking intensity, frequency, and recency, as well as the prevalence of many deleterious drinking consequences that potentially carry negative externalities.
• Rising cigarette taxes have not significantly contributed to rising obesity rates.