SMOKING AND OTHER RISKY BEHAVIORS

To better understand the causes of smoking behavior, this paper examin es the differences in risk-taking behavior by smokers in other domains . Smokers are less likely to perform preventive health activities such as seatbelt use, flossing, and checking their blood pressure. They ch oose riskier jobs, are more likely to be injured on their jobs control ling for objective measures of risk, are more likely to have an accide nt at home, and are more likely to have an accident overall. These cho ices do not stem from any greater economic payoff to smokers taking ri sks. Indeed, smokers are willing to work at hazardous jobs for less pa y per unit risk than nonsmokers. On average, smokers place a monetary value on the risk of job injury that is roughly half that of nonsmoker s. The greater risk faking of smokers reflects a broad pattern of beha vior and is not restricted to smoking decisions.