Thank you for not smoking: evidence from the Italian smoking ban.

By 2030, tobacco is expected to be the cause of about 10 million deaths per year worldwide. In Italy tobacco smoking is still a pervasive and relevant phenomenon. Using data from a national health survey, we investigate how individuals react to the introduction of a public smoking ban in Italy. Our estimates suggest that the Italian smoking ban in private places open to the public reduced smoking prevalence by 1.3% and daily cigarettes consumption by 8%. We find heterogeneous effects by gender, marital status, and region of residence.