Michael Pesko
@mikepesko.bsky.social
110 followers 130 following 24 posts
Mizzou Econ Prof | Health Economist | PI of NIH lab on #tobacco & #audiology | Director of TOPS (@tobaccopolicy.org) | Fellow IZA | Guiding impactful, high-quality research. #EconSky
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
The FDA could clarify risks by approving more e-cig products. History shows technology + reasonable regulation generally improves wellbeing—let’s use it to cut smoking’s 8M annual deaths. Thoughts? 3/3
Public perception lags science: only 10% of US smokers and 27% of British smokers see e-cigs as safer than cigarettes. Evidence suggests e-cig restrictions may raise mortality, yet bans persist in 40+ countries, including many with high smoking rates. 2/3
One other thought. Today I was going to sign-up for a $150 annual cloud recording service for my nanny cameras, but ChatGPT then told me I could save by buying SD cards instead. Could #AI be helping to offset price inflation that would otherwise be occurring? 6/6
I'm surprised though that my observations don't seem to be borne out by economics data so far. Am I just imaging a trend that doesn't exist, or might we have just observed an inflation inflection point that will materialize in data with a lag? 5/6
Some families will obviously be able to avoid some of these purchases, but nevertheless it makes me wonder if families are struggling right now. 4/6
Was shopping yesterday for athletic shoes for my 4-year-old and all options were $60+. This may or may not be recent, but I was surprised by the level for little kid's shoes. 3/6
Just checked my Amazon monthly subscriptions. One year ago, 1.5 pounds of mangos cost $14. Same bag today: $27. 2/6
Anybody else seeing evidence of recent #inflation? My small observation is #Publix yogurt cups went up from $0.50 (already high in my opinion) to $0.60 overnight. 1/6
New TOPS season just announced; kick-off is Oct. 24. Register for free today. #tobacco #nicotine
Check out the ❄️Winter❄️ series lineup! TOPS is back with more great tobacco policy research on Friday 10/24 2PM ET, featuring Jamie Hartmann-Boyce.
TOPS is:
➡️ Free 🥳
➡️ Open to all 👋
👉 Register: bit.ly/TOPS-Winter2026
👉 Join our email list: tobaccopolicy.org/email
My co-author Rachel Fung is presenting an awesome paper tomorrow at 2 PM New York time on early 20th century cigarette prohibition laws in the USA! #History buffs, get your popcorn out. Registration is free; see you there.
Submit your research with #tobacco policy implications to TOPS by Monday for consideration in the next TOPS season. We accept presentations from graduate students on through professors; from working papers through published papers.
Submit or nominate TOPS-notch research for next season's lineup! TOPS offers presenters:
✅quasi- & experimental tobacco policy research OK
👉exposure among a diverse global audience
👉helpful feedback from audience comments
🗓️Deadline: 9/22
✏️Submit: tobaccopolicy.org/call.html
a cat wearing a blue shirt is sitting on a laptop computer
ALT: a cat wearing a blue shirt is sitting on a laptop computer
media.tenor.com
Enjoyed the @socialimpactlab.bsky.social welcome dinner + #karaoke night for @mizzouecon.bsky.social graduate students and post-docs. Excited for the academic year ahead and for a great new cohort of students! #EconSky
Very cool that TOPS just celebrated its 5-year birthday. It's been fun being part of organizing team.
🎉The Tobacco Online Policy Seminar turns 5 today! 🎉

Since 2020, TOPS has provided a free, international forum for sharing cutting-edge research on tobacco policy, uniting academics, policymakers & advocates to break silos and improve population health.

Thank you for 5 years of learning together! 🙌
Reposted by Michael Pesko
🎉The Tobacco Online Policy Seminar turns 5 today! 🎉

Since 2020, TOPS has provided a free, international forum for sharing cutting-edge research on tobacco policy, uniting academics, policymakers & advocates to break silos and improve population health.

Thank you for 5 years of learning together! 🙌
New paper alert! We use claims data to find that paid sick leave mandates in the USA increased a wide array of different healthcare visits, particularly for individuals in industries with low PSL coverage historically, and along the extensive margin of any visit.

sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Health care utilization following the adoption of U.S. paid sick leave mandates: a cohort study using health insurance claims data
The U.S. is one of the only developed countries in the world without a federal requirement that employers provide paid sick leave (PSL) to workers. We…
sciencedirect.com
Awesome dinner and music with colleagues at #ASHEcon2025 #Nashville.
I don't see a connected mouse. Just as important!
Another amazing TOPS season announced today, which includes researchers from NZ, UK, Canada, and Switzerland. We also have a panel of two researchers with similar papers and reaching different conclusions! Registration is free, hope to see you starting 5 PM ET this Thursday.
Check out our Summer lineup! TOPS is back with more great #tobacco #policy #research on THURSDAY 4/24 5PM ET, featuring Natalie Walker.
TOPS is:
➡️Free🥳
➡️Open to all 🙂👋
👉Register: bit.ly/TOPS-Summer2...
👉Join our email list: tobaccopolicy.org/email
Not too late to apply for the next TOPS season. Abstracts / papers are due by midnight on Monday. Send us your work!
Submit or nominate research for next season's lineup! TOPS offers presenters:
✅quasi- & experimental tobacco policy research
✅just published or almost ready research
👉exposure among a diverse global audience
👉helpful feedback from audience comments
🗓️Deadline: 4/7
✏️Submit: tobaccopolicy.org/call.html
a bird is sitting on top of a laptop computer
ALT: a bird is sitting on top of a laptop computer
media.tenor.com
Reposted by Michael Pesko
Submit or nominate TOPS-notch research for next season's lineup! TOPS offers presenters:
✅exposure among a diverse global audience (avg 164 attendees!)
✅helpful feedback from audience comments
✅opportunities to network
👉 tobaccopolicy.org/call.html
🗓️Deadline: 4/7
a cat is sitting on a couch and typing on a laptop computer .
ALT: a cat is sitting on a couch and typing on a laptop computer .
media.tenor.com
Reposted by Michael Pesko
Recommendations for future research exploring e-cigarette use and later cigarette smoking in young people: Results from a consultation exercise buff.ly/vzelU0v
Hey, weren't you supposed to have destroyed these 20 years ago?