Raising minimum wage could reduce smoking rates, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the University of California- Davis Health System found that a 10 percent increase in wages leads to about a 5 percent drop in smoking rates among workers who are male or who have high school educations or less and improves their overall chances of quitting smoking from 17 to 20 percent, The Financial Express reported.

This finding suggests that in addition to restricting when and where tobacco is used at work, raising wages can also deter smoking.

"Our findings are especially important as inflation-adjusted wages for low-income jobs have been dropping for decades and the percentage of workers in low-paying jobs has been growing nationwide," Paul Leigh, senior author of the study, said in a statement. "Increasing the minimum wage could have a big impact on a significant health threat."

For the study, researchers looked at data on wages, smoking status and state of residence for full-time employees between the ages of 21 to 65 years old, Ani News reported. They excluded those under 21, since wage variation is small for this age group. They also excluded those who never smoked, as the goal was to evaluate influences on quitting rather than starting smoking.

"We assume that people begin smoking for reasons other than wages," Leigh said. "About 90 percent of smokers in the United States started smoking before age 20, so the data captured a sample of most full-time workers who have ever smoked."

They found that smoking prevalence was lower overall in states with higher minimum wages or higher rates of unionization.

The researchers also found that smoking rates for women were not influenced by wages, and that smoking rates for men were not influenced by additional household income. They speculate that men may be more apt to tie self-worth to pay, increasing the likelihood of risky health behaviors among men in lower-paying jobs.

"Our findings add to the existing body of epidemiological literature showing that lower income predicts poor health habits," Leigh said. "They also show that higher minimum wages could reduce the prevalence of smoking."

The findings are detailed in the journal Annals of Epidemiology.