Abstract
INTRODUCTIONIncreased taxation is one of the most effective tobacco control measures. Price differentials across tobacco product types may undermine the effectiveness of taxation policies by providing the option to switch to cheaper products rather than to quit. The aim of this study was to use commercial data to compare prices and price differentials of both cigarette and non-cigarette products across countries from all geographical regions.METHODSWe analyzed 6920 price data points (i.e. product brands) from Euromonitor Passport 2016 for 12 types of tobacco products across 79 countries from the six WHO regions: Africa (n=5), Eastern Mediterranean (n=6), Europe (n=39), the Americas (n=15), South-East Asia (n=3), and Western Pacific (n=12). For each product and country, a price differential was computed as the percentage of minimum price to the median.RESULTSMedian cigarette prices (US$) were highest in Western Pacific countries (4.00; range: 0.80–16.20) and European countries (3.80; range: 0.80–14.00), but lowest in African countries (2.00; range: 0.80–2.20). The medians of cigarette price differentials were largest in the Eastern Mediterranean (48.33%) and African regions (50.00%), but smallest in Europe (82.35%). Pipe tobacco and fine-cut tobacco were generally less expensive than cigarettes while cigars were the most expensive. However, there were wide variations in prices and price differentials across regions and tobacco products.CONCLUSIONSWe found substantial variations in prices and price differentials between countries and world regions across tobacco products, likely reflecting differences in taxation policies and structures. Findings identify types of tobacco products in specific geographical regions where price differentials are highest, thereby highlighting areas where taxation policies need improvement, for example through implementing specific excise taxes.
Highlights
Increased taxation is one of the most effective tobacco control measures
Increasing tobacco prices by raising taxes is considered the single most effective and cost-effective tobacco control measure and is the cornerstone of both the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the MPOWER policy package which lays out six strategies for reducing the demand of tobacco products, including ‘R’ for ‘Raise taxes on tobacco’[2,3]
Data sources and measures Tobacco price data Retail price data for multiple tobacco products were obtained from Euromonitor Passport, an online database of the market research company Euromonitor International[17]
Summary
Increased taxation is one of the most effective tobacco control measures. Price differentials across tobacco product types may undermine the effectiveness of taxation policies by providing the option to switch to cheaper products rather than to quit. Higher cigarette prices have repeatedly been shown to reduce smoking initiation and tobacco consumption, and increase quitting[4,5]. Availability of lower priced products has been shown to be associated with reduced motivation to quit and cessation success[10]. These tobacco industry tactics likely attenuate the effectiveness of taxation policies, especially when tobacco taxation structures rely heavily on ad valorem taxes[11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
