Distributional health and financial benefits of increased tobacco taxes in Colombia: results from a modelling study

James, Erin; Saxena, Akshar; Restrepo, Camila Franco; Llorente, Blanca; Vecino-Ortiz, Andrés I.; Uribe, Manuela Villar; Iunes, Roberto F.; Verguet, Stéphane

doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054378

Cited by 25 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…We build on ECEA methods applied to the study of increased tobacco taxes 39–43. ECEA is a policy assessment methodology that estimates policy impact on three major outcomes: (1) health benefits; (2) reduction of out-of-pocket (OOP) costs on health and the financial risk protection (FRP) due to reduction in OOP expenditures; and (3) the distributional impact across socioeconomic status (eg, income quintiles) 37 38.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distributional impact of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages: findings from an extended cost-effectiveness analysis in South Africa

et al. 2019

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BackgroundFacing increasing obesity prevalence and obesity-related disease burden, South Africa has devised an obesity prevention strategy that includes a recently implemented tax on the sugar content of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). We assess the potential distributional impact (across socioeconomic groups) of this tax on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) incidence and associated mortality and its financial burden on households.MethodsWe conducted an extended cost-effectiveness analysis of the new 10% tax on SSBs in South Africa, and estimated: the averted premature deaths related to T2DM, the financial benefits to households (out-of-pocket (OOP) medical costs and indirect costs due to productivity losses averted), the increased government tax revenues and healthcare savings for the government, all across income quintiles.FindingsA 10% SSB tax increase would avert an estimated 8000 T2DM-related premature deaths over 20 years, with most deaths averted among the third and fourth income quintiles. The government would save about South African rand (ZAR) 2 billion (US$140 million) in subsidised healthcare over 20 years; and would raise ZAR6 billion (US$450 million) in tax revenues per annum. The bottom two quintiles would bear the smallest tax burden increase (36% of the additional taxes). The bottom two income quintiles would also have the lowest savings in OOP payments due to significant subsidisation provided by government healthcare. Lastly, an estimated 32 000 T2DM-related cases of catastrophic expenditures and 12 000 cases of poverty would be averted.ConclusionsSSB taxation would have a substantial distributional impact on obesity-related premature deaths, cost savings to the government and the financial outcomes of South Africa’s population.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distributional impact of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages: findings from an extended cost-effectiveness analysis in South Africa

et al. 2019

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“…Tobacco consumption is a leading cause of ill-health globally, and although the prevalence of smoking in Colombia is among the lowest in the region, associated morbidity nevertheless is significant 1. In recent decades, the government of Colombia has implemented policies to prevent, discourage and reduce smoking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Promotion of the tobacco control agenda in public policy requires tools that simulate the impact of tax hikes. However, current exercises are based on estimates of the number of cigarettes consumed per day (intensive margin) for the total population 1 10. While such estimates are appropriate in a general sense, it is impossible to provide specific-group impacts that are desirable for inequality analysis and projections.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, if in a household, there are two smokers and only one-stop smoking as a result of the price increase, this would not be taken into account in the calculation of the estimate. As a local reference, total elasticities for the Colombian case haven been estimated on −0.36 by Santa María and Rozo, on −0.44 by James et al and on −0.78 by Maldonado et al 1 25 26. For Colombia, Santa María and Rozo estimate an elasticity of −0.36 using data from NIELSEN for the period between 2000 and 2007 for 15 cities, combined with price variation at brand-quarter level from 2000 to 2007 25.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Maldonado et al estimated the same figure to be −0.78 using tax office sales records, and yearly national prices from the statistics department between 1994 and 2014 26. Using household data and the tobacco consumer price index (CPI), James et al estimate price elasticity on −0.44 1. Generally, sensitivity of cigarette consumption in LA mainly lies within 0 and −0.5 22…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Price smoking participation elasticity in Colombia: estimates by age and socioeconomic level

2020

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BackgroundTobacco prevalence in Colombia is small compared with other Latin America despite the nation’s tobacco taxes being among the lowest in the region. However, tobacco taxes have increased several times during the last decade, and large increases in 2010 and 2016 impacted consumer prices.ObjectiveThis paper aims to estimate the price smoking participation elasticity (PPE) in Colombia, with specific reference to regional increases in consumer prices after 2010 tax policy changes.MethodsThe PPE is computed using logistic regression based on individual-level data from the National Psychoactive Substances Consumption Survey for 2008 and 2013. Our specific focus is state-level variation in Colombian cigarette prices between 2008 and 2013 induced by the tax hike in 2010.ResultsThe estimated PPE in Colombia is around −0.66 (p value=0.046). We find almost no differences across socioeconomic level, but price sensitivity was greater for women than men, and for relatively older individuals (ages 51–64).ConclusionsPPE for Colombia is above estimates for comparable middle-income countries such as Mexico. As a result, current estimates for health gains of tax policies are likely to be underestimated. Moreover, in contrast with the literature, we find that the PPE for the youth (≤25 years) is lower than older age groups, and there is no evidence of a prominent socio-economic status (SES) gradient.

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The health, economic and social burden of smoking in Argentina, and the impact of increasing tobacco taxes in a context of illicit trade

et al. 2023

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Tobacco tax increases, the most cost‐effective measure in reducing consumption, remain underutilized in low and middle‐income countries. This study estimates the health and economic burden of smoking in Argentina and forecasts the benefits of tobacco tax hikes, accounting for the potential effects of illicit trade. Using a probabilistic Markov microsimulation model, this study quantifies smoking‐related deaths, health events, and societal costs. The model also estimates the health and economic benefits of different increases in the price of cigarettes through taxes. Annually, smoking causes 45,000 deaths and 221,000 health events in Argentina, costing USD 2782 million in direct medical expenses, USD 1470 million in labor productivity loss costs, and USD 1069 million in informal care costs—totaling 1.2% of the national gross domestic product. Even in a scenario that considers illicit trade of tobacco products, a 50% cigarette price increase through taxes could yield USD 8292 million in total economic benefits accumulated over a decade. Consequently, raising tobacco taxes could significantly reduce the health and economic burdens of smoking in Argentina while increasing fiscal revenue.

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Distributional health and financial benefits of increased tobacco taxes in Colombia: results from a modelling study

Abstract: The tobacco tax increase passed by Colombia has substantial implications for the country's population health and financial well-being, with large benefits likely to accrue to the two poorest quintiles of the population.

Cited by 25 publications

References 17 publications

The distributional impact of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages: findings from an extended cost-effectiveness analysis in South Africa

The distributional impact of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages: findings from an extended cost-effectiveness analysis in South Africa

Price smoking participation elasticity in Colombia: estimates by age and socioeconomic level

The health, economic and social burden of smoking in Argentina, and the impact of increasing tobacco taxes in a context of illicit trade

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