Framing the policy debate over tobacco control legislation and tobacco taxation in South Africa

BackgroundIn 2018, South Africa opened public consultations on its newly proposed tobacco control bill, resulting in substantial public debate in which a range of arguments, either in favour of or against the Bill, was advanced. These were accompanied by the recurring discussions about the annual adjustments in tobacco taxation. This study uses the concept of framing to examine the public debate in South African print media on the potential effects of the legislation, as well as tobacco tax regulations, between their proponents and detractors.MethodsA systematic search of news articles using multiple data sources identified 132 media articles published between January 2018 and September 2019 that met the inclusion criteria.ResultsSeven overarching frames were identified as characterising the media debate, with the three dominant frames being Economic, Harm reduction and vaping, and Health. The leading Economic frame consisted primarily of arguments unsupportive of tobacco control legislation. Economic arguments were promoted by tobacco industry spokespeople, trade unions, organisations of retailers, media celebrities and think tanks—several of which have been identified as front groups or third-party lobbyists for the tobacco industry.ConclusionThe dominance of economic arguments opposing tobacco control legislation risks undermining tobacco control progress. Local and global tobacco control advocates should seek to build relationships with media, as well as collate and disseminate effective counterarguments to those advanced by the industry.

Extended cost–benefit analysis of tobacco taxation in Brazil

BackgroundBrazil has experienced a persistent and substantial reduction in the prevalence of smoking in the population since 2006 due to increased taxes on tobacco and other tobacco control policies. Despite the effectiveness of these measures, however, the socioeconomic costs of smoking are still very high. Tobacco taxation in Brazil plays an important role among the measures adopted to curb tobacco use.MethodsThe study combines data from the National Household Sample Survey of 2008 and the National Health Survey of 2013 and applies cross-section, pooled, and probit estimations, to estimate price elasticities of tobacco consumption by distinct population cohorts. The paper presents a comprehensive cost–benefit analysis resulting from a one-time tax increase on manufactured cigarettes using estimated conditional price elasticity of cigarette consumption and probability of smoking by income and age quartiles.FindingsEach 10% price increase (BRL 0.54), due to higher tobacco taxes, reduces cigarette consumption by about 5%, and for poor smokers, it would lead to net income gains by about BRL 39.00 per month (in 2019 values). The highest net income effects were observed for the younger, aged between 15 and 29 years, and for middle-aged individuals, between 40 and 59 years old. Higher tobacco taxes lead to lower medical expenses on tobacco-related diseases and a longer, healthier and more productive life. Most importantly, this policy is progressive, as its economic effects are stronger for the poorer than for the richer according to the income quartiles.ConclusionsA tax increase that rises cigarette prices generates significant social benefits by reducing tobacco spending and medical expenses on tobacco-related diseases and raising future years of life and net income. The total benefits for the individual and the society go way beyond the public finance improvement.

Cigarette affordability in Canadian provinces: a 10-year review

The association between pricing and cigarette consumption is long-established. However, the effects of taxation alone can be diminished if relative income increases. Therefore, affordability is seen as a key determinant of demand for cigarettes, as it combines the impact of changing prices with economic growth or wage increases. This brief analysis employs methods used by the World Health Organization in examining cigarette affordability, and explores the trend in affordability across Canadian provinces over a 10-year period, from 2009 to 2019. The discussion illustrates how monitoring affordability over time can help policy makers in Canadian provinces design tobacco taxation for maximum impact.

TOBACCO PRODUCTS MARKET: FISCAL AND REGULATORY ROLE OF TAXATION

Background.The tobacco taxation policy’s fiscal efficiency should be compre­hensively examined, taking into account both the criteria for the amount of the collected tax revenues to the budget system and the specific share of the hidden tax base, which is part of the shadow economy. The analysis of recent research and publications has shown that despite the availability of some scientific investigations, it is advisable to further develop the main provisions on the tobacco excise tax collection for Ukraine, taking the current market trends and the potential threats into account. The aim of this article is to assess the potential development challenges for the domestic tobacco market and to develop both scientific and practical proposals to increase the fiscal and regulatory effectiveness of the excise tax on tobacco and tobacco products. Materials and methods. In the course of research, the system approach, the methods of analytical estimation, synthesis, economic and mathematical modeling, and scientific abstraction were used. Results. The directions for the further improvement in the tobacco excise taxation practice were offered, taking into account its fiscal and regulatory aspects. The modern peculiarities of the development of the tobacco products market in Ukraine were determined. The main causes and consequences of the illicit excisable goods’ production and circulation have been studied. The excise tax potential index’s calculations without the implementation of systematic measures in the field of counteracting the illicit market were presented. The government policy’s vectors in the field of reducing the cigarette market’s shadow segment have been identified. Conclusion. Taking the excisable goods shadow market’s indicators and its expansion potential into account, the balanced adjustments of the state fiscal policy is important. Counteracting the illicit tobacco and tobacco products trafficking is an important element of the national and economic security strategy. It is advisable to systematize the reliable information on the prevalence of smoking, consumer preferences and the relevant products’ consumption intensity in the territorial context, and the illicit market share as well. On the part of the authorized state institutions, the priority measures are modeling the supply and demand for tobacco products; systematization of information on its illegal circulation; description of the modus operandi of the main participants in the shadow market of tobacco and tobacco products; assessment of institutional capacity, transparency and accountability of fiscal and other authorized bodies for counteracting illicit products trafficking.

Reducing the Burden of Disease Through Tobacco Taxes in Mongolia: A Health Impact Analysis Using a Dynamic Public Health Model

Background/Objectives Smoking is the leading risk factor for many chronic diseases. The quantitative analysis of potential health gains from reduced smoking is important for establishing priorities in Mongolia’s health policy. This study quantifies the effect of tobacco-tax increases on future smoking prevalence and the associated smoking-related burden of disease in Mongolia. Methods The dynamic model for health impact assessment (DYNAMO-HIA) tool was used. The most recent data were used as input for evaluating tobacco-taxation scenarios. Demographic data were taken from the Mongolian Statistical Information Services. Smoking data came from a representative population-based STEPS survey, and smoking-related disease data were obtained from the health-information database of Mongolia’s National Health Center. Simulation was used to evaluate various levels of one-time price increases on tobacco products (25% and 75%) in Mongolia. Conservative interpretation suggests that the population will eventually adjust to the higher tobacco price and return to baseline smoking behaviors. Results Over a three-year period, smoking prevalence would be reduced by 1.2% points, corresponding to almost 40 thousand smokers at the population level for a price increase of 75%, compared to the baseline scenario. Projected health benefits of this scenario suggest that more than 137 thousand quality adjusted of life years would be gained by avoiding smoking-related diseases within a population of three million over a 30-year period. Discussion Prevention through effective tobacco-control policy could yield considerable gains in population health in Mongolia. Compared to current policy, tax increases must be higher to have a significant effect on population health. Implications Tobacco taxation is an effective policy for reducing the harm of tobacco smoking, while benefiting population health in countries where the tobacco epidemic is still in an early stage. Smoking prevalence and smoking behaviors in these countries differ from those in Western countries. Reducing the uptake of smoking among young people could be a particularly worthwhile benefit of tobacco-tax increases.

Estimating the Impact of Tobacco Parity and Harm Reduction Tax Proposals Using the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace

Taxes are a demonstrably effective method to suppress tobacco use. This study examined the effects of the tobacco parity (i.e., imposing taxes equally on all tobacco products) and the harm reduction (i.e., applying taxes in proportion to the products’ levels of harm) tax proposals on demand and substitution across products. A crowdsourced sample of cigarette smokers (n = 35) completed purchasing trials with increasing tax magnitudes across different tax tiers in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace in a repeated-measures design. Products were placed in three tax tiers (high, medium, and no tax) according to each proposal’s goal. The results indicated that total nicotine (mg) purchased was not significantly different between the proposals, with higher taxes yielding lower demand. However, as taxes increased, the tobacco parity proposal decreased the purchasing of all tobacco products and increased the purchasing of medicinal nicotine (i.e., the no tax tier). Conversely, the harm reduction proposal resulted in greater purchases of electronic nicotine delivery systems and smokeless tobacco (i.e., the medium tax tier). These findings support tobacco taxation as a robust tool for suppressing purchasing and suggest that differential taxation in proportion to product risk would be an effective way to incentivize smokers to switch from smoked to unsmoked products. Further studies should investigate the unintended consequences of their implementation.

Evaluation of the new ECOWAS directive on tobacco taxation

This paper provides an assessment of the level of implementation of the new 2017 ECOWAS Directive on Tobacco Products Tariff and Tax Policy in Member States. This stricter directive recommends that member states apply a minimum excise duty of 50% of the pre-tax (ex-factory) selling price of imported or domestic tobacco products in order to reduce the prevalence of tobacco use among the population. It is clear from this research that most Member States are still not complying with the recommended tax provisions. Some countries continue to apply an excise rate of less than 50%, while others are satisfied with the necessary rate. While Ghana continues to have the highest excise rate (175%) in the economic union, countries such as Togo, Benin, and Senegal have made relatively more efforts to increase the excise rate. Indeed, Togo tripled its rate, followed by Benin by two. Senegal, in addition to having increased its rate by one and a half, is the only country to have introduced a minimum collection price per package to avoid price drops. However, while efforts have been made in terms of restrictions on use, promotion and advertising, they are likely to be undermined by the low enforcement of tax rates. Thus, for a comprehensive tobacco control strategy, we suggest that efforts to increase tobacco taxation within ECOWAS be increased in proportion to inflation and changes in disposable income per capita, recognizing that low-income people are more sensitive to any price increase.