Vaping and Mental Health
Conventional cigarette use (“smoking”) is the leading cause of preventable disease worldwide, responsible for almost 1 in 5 US deaths annually. While smoking has declined steeply over the last two decades, this trend has not been evident for those with mental illness, a group with disproportionately high mortality from tobacco-related diseases.
Current evidence suggests that electronic cigarettes are safer than conventional cigarettes, and that these two products are economic substitutes. This project seeks to assess how shifts towards electronic cigarettes have altered mental health disparities in smoking, and whether key policies have influenced that shift.
Requisite Skills and Qualifications:
Research assistance is sought to clean and code respondent-level data in Stata, match it to available policy data, and carry out analyses under Dr. Friedman’s guidance, along with other tasks that might come up related to this project. The ideal candidate should be familiar with Stata (proficiency is a plus), have completed at least one econometrics course, and be able to work independently with strong attention to detail. Applicants should send a transcript, CV, and short letter describing why they are interested in this project.