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Safety behavior and consumer responses to cigarette lighter safety mechanisms
Author(s) -
Viscusi W. Kip,
Cavallo Gerald
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
managerial and decision economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.288
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1099-1468
pISSN - 0143-6570
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1468(199609)17:5<441::aid-mde787>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - consumer safety , mechanism (biology) , business , perception , child safety , sample (material) , environmental health , food safety , consumer protection , marketing , medicine , psychology , risk analysis (engineering) , engineering , commerce , philosophy , chemistry , structural engineering , epistemology , chromatography , pathology , neuroscience
This paper analyzes consumer responses to lighter child‐resistant mechanisms using an original sample of 200 households with young children. Results from an in‐house placement of lighters indicate that the child‐resistant mechanism would diminish consumer care. The child‐resistant device reduced risk perceptions, parental concern with lighter safety, the assessed need for precautions, and consumer care. The results provide the most detailed empirical evidence of the mechanisms driving the diminished safety precautions in response to technological improvements in safety. The overall efficacy of the mechanism, however, is sufficient to generate a safety improvement despite the diminished care.