Wildfire events have increased in frequency and severity across the United States in recent decades. While a growing literature has documented the effects of wildfire smoke exposure on a wide range of health and socioeconomic outcomes, little is known about its impact on consumer behavior and household demand for adaptation in healthcare. We combine a newly developed and digitized dataset on daily wildfire smoke PM2.5 concentrations across the contiguous United States during 2006-2019 with weekly Nielsen retail scanner data to quantify how wildfire smoke exposure affects retail sales of air purifiers, bottled water, cold remedies, nasal products, cough products, and nutritional products. We find a positive and statistically significant impact of wildfire smoke exposure on the retail sales of these products. Dynamic effects are evident as wildfire smoke exposure in previous weeks also increases current sales. Nonlinear effects arising from the varying intensity of wildfire smoke exposure also reveal distinct patterns of demand for adaptation. We further explore how the effects of wildfire smoke exposure vary with socio-demographic characteristics, focusing on social vulnerability and highlighting the implications of environmental justice. Our results underscore the need for proactive policies to address the increased demand for medical and healthcare products as household adaptive measures during the wildfire season, particularly targeting socioeconomically vulnerable populations who may be prone to limited access to other preventive measures against wildfire.

Environmental regulations shape the spatial distribution of pollution, influencing the burden on different communities. In South Florida, wind-based sugarcane burning regulations have historically favored wealthier, densely-populated areas by limiting burning during specific wind conditions. In 2019, additional restrictions were introduced to limit burning on days with low air quality. By using satellite fire data and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data, we assess the impact of these stringent restrictions on burning and air pollution. Results reveal a 41 percent decrease in burning on restricted days within the main cultivation area, potentially leading to increased burning on days without restrictions. This unintended consequence exacerbates air quality issues for the region’s most vulnerable populations. The study reveals regulatory enhancements inadvertently worsen environmental inequities, highlighting the need for environmental justice policies that address historical and systemic discrimination affecting pollution distribution.