Eight million people die from tobacco use each year, making it the world’s greatest cause of preventable deaths. Evidence suggests that the most efficient and economical way to reduce tobacco usage is to drastically raise tobacco excise taxes and prices. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’s Article 6 also specifically calls for this action.
Tobacco becomes less accessible as a result of tax hikes on tobacco goods that raise their costs. People use tobacco less when it is more expensive, and this reduces youth initiation. Youth and low-income groups disproportionately benefit from the health and financial advantages of quitting and not starting because they are more sensitive to changes in tobacco pricing.
Taxing cigarettes decrease the severe healthcare costs and financial losses brought on by the tobacco-related illness. Taxing tobacco also costs nothing to execute and brings in a lot of money in the short and long term.
The following are examples of good tobacco taxing policy:
Use it or start moving toward a straightforward excise tax structure.
Rely more heavily on certain cigarette excises to raise prices.
By considering the effects of inflation and economic growth, cigarette tax affordability is certain to drop.
To lessen customer incentives to switch to less expensive brands, straightforward tax schemes that do not differentiate depending on tobacco product attributes should be employed.
As part of a comprehensive plan to reduce tobacco consumption, implement tobacco taxes.
FAQs:
What effects does raising the cigarette tax to have?
A major increase in cigarette taxes results in fewer children starting to smoke and more adults quitting, and at the same time, it generates a sizable amount of income to support crucial health and tobacco prevention programs.
Do you believe that increased tobacco taxes will discourage more people from smoking?
According to a study, not all smokers are discouraged by higher cigarette taxes; smokers between the ages of 25 and 44 are the least affected. Summary: Government-enforced public health measures like raising cigarette taxes don’t always succeed in persuading smokers to give up their deadly habit.
What impact does pricing have on Americans’ use of tobacco?
While most studies have demonstrated that higher prices cause people to smoke less, the impact is typically less pronounced in adults than it is in children. The vast majority of researchers discovered an inverse relationship between price and both smoking participation and consumption.
Does increasing the price of cigarettes make people smoke less?
The study found that tax-induced price rises would significantly increase tobacco tax receipts while significantly reducing the number of smokers and smoking-related mortality.