Illicit tobacco trade: empty pack survey in eight Argentinean cities

Pizarro, María Elisabet; Giacobone, Gabriel; Shammah, Cinthia; Stokłosa, Michał

doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056405

Cited by 6 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…prevalence is estimated at 13.7%, where 6.1% was attributable to stamp counterfeiting and 7.6% to contraband smuggling of foreign cigarette packs. 38 As described in Gonzalez-Rozada, 16 the tax structure on cigarette consumption in Argentina is very complex. Federal taxes affecting cigarettes are four ad-valorem taxes: (1) the additional emergency tax (IAE), with a rate of 7% over the retail price (RP);…”

Section: Original Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential price responses for tobacco consumption: implications for tax incidence

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Increasing tobacco taxes is considered the most effective an cost-eﬀective policy to reduce tobacco consumption. However, a common objection to tobacco taxes is that they tend to rely disproportionately on the poorest individuals since less affluent smokers incur proportionately greater expenditures on cigarettes compared with more affluent smokers. Such objections usually assume that all smokers throughout the income distribution react similarly to an increase in tobacco prices. But, if less affluent smokers are more sensitive to price changes (ie, they have a higher demand price elasticity), reductions in tobacco consumption should be higher at the bottom of the income distribution. This paper uses data from Argentina’s Household Expenditure Survey to estimate demand price elasticities for tobacco by income and age groups. Results indicate that less affluent smokers present higher demand price elasticities for cigarettes than more affluent ones. A 10% increase in cigarette prices would decrease consumption by 8.5% (4.4%) for the poorest (richest) smokers. In addition, young people are the most elastic group. These differential elasticities have relevant implications in terms of the distributional incidence of increasing tobacco taxes. As less well-off individuals reduce consumption relatively more, they bear a relatively lower tax burden. Thus, tobacco tax increases may not be regressive as is often believed. As a whole, this paper provides policymakers with relevant arguments for policy discussion and the public debate on common objections to increasing tobacco taxes.

show abstract

Section: Original Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential price responses for tobacco consumption: implications for tax incidence

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recent evidence also shows illicit Paraguayan cigarettes are widely available in Argentina, where some cities close to the Paraguayan border have presented up to 64% illicit tobacco trade. 6 Another key dynamic is the major destinations for registered or legal exports of cigarettes from Paraguay, such as Bolivia, Suriname, Aruba and Curacao, do not have domestic markets large enough to absorb these influxes of imports, casting suspicion on the eventual destination of these goods. Linking this information with the above-mentioned evidence that no records of legal exports of cigarettes from Paraguay to Brazil indicates that potentially most of the illicit traffic of Paraguayan-manufactured cigarettes into Brazil occurs through the borders with Paraguay and Bolivia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional implications of the tobacco value chain in Paraguay

Masi¹,

Rodríguez-Iglesias

Drope

2022

Tob Control

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundParaguay is a major supplier of illicit cigarettes for the Latin American region and beyond. In July 2022, Paraguay ratified the FCTC Protocol. This is an opportunity and a challenge for neighboring countries to implement coordinated actions. This is the first analysis of the foreign trade data for cigarettes and their inputs using Paraguayan data to contextualise the illicit trade problem in Latin America and globally.MethodsCombining publicly available Paraguayan databases, this research constructs a database to analyse imported cigarette inputs, particularly by identifying the companies and their national origins.ResultsA complex multinational supply chain perpetuates a flow of inputs into Paraguay that contributes to the production and export of illicit tobacco products. Brazil is a relevant legal supplier of intermediate goods for the Paraguayan tobacco industry yet is not a significant destination of the legal exports of cigarettes produced in Paraguay. Yet, Paraguayan cigarettes are widely available in the Brazilian market, almost all of them illicit. Trade data also show the role of other countries in the region as major cigarette input exporters to Paraguay. Evidence also supports that high volumes of legal exports from Paraguay to third countries (including Bolivia, Suriname, Aruba and Curacao) may be fuelling illicit trade through triangulation to other countries.ConclusionsThe oversupply—that is, more supply than necessary for domestic consumption and legal exports—of cigarette inputs likely divert illegally back to the countries exporting these inputs and others. Thus, the responsibility for illicit trade in cigarettes falls not only on Paraguayan companies but also on companies exporting inputs to Paraguay to producing these illicit goods. Furthermore, Paraguay is not only exporting illicitly directly to Brazil and Argentina, but also appears to oversupply other countries in South America and the Caribbean that cannot legally absorb this trade through domestic consumption and/or legal re-export.

show abstract

“…Other methods, allowing for more in-depth analysis of the illicit trade problem, involve primary data collection. Those techniques include littered pack collections (eg, Argentina37 and the USA38), purchasing packs from vendors (eg, India19) and pack examinations in smoker surveys (eg, Chile,21 Colombia20 39 40 and Georgia41). Some studies use a mix of two or more methods (Brazil,42 Mexico43 and Pakistan44).…”

Section: New Methods To Measure Illicit Tradementioning

confidence: 99%

“…60 As a result, an overwhelming majority of foreign illicit cigarette packs consumed in Brazil and Argentina come from Paraguay. 37 42 In 2017, the illicit market share in Brazil was about six times higher than in Colombia, a country with lower incomes, higher cigarette prices, but located further away from Paraguay. 39 46 Similarly, while the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was identified as a major source of illicit cigarettes over a decade ago, 61 it continues to supply illicit cigarettes to markets in Europe.…”

Section: The Challenges Aheadmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Twenty years later, these manufacturers still supply the market with quantities of cigarettes that are seven times greater than could be explained by Paraguay’s local demand and legitimate cigarette exports 60. As a result, an overwhelming majority of foreign illicit cigarette packs consumed in Brazil and Argentina come from Paraguay 37 42. In 2017, the illicit market share in Brazil was about six times higher than in Colombia, a country with lower incomes, higher cigarette prices, but located further away from Paraguay 39 46.…”

Section: The Challenges Aheadmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Illicit trade in tobacco products: recent trends and coming challenges

2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundIllicit trade in tobacco products is a menace to the goal of eliminating tobacco consumption. Although tax policy is very effective in reducing consumption, illicit trade can reduce (though not eliminate) its effectiveness.MethodsThis article discusses the recent evolution of illicit trade and the context in which it occurred; the new methods that have been developed to measure it and, finally, the challenges in the next phase in the control of illicit trade.ResultsThere has been a remarkable stability in the penetration of cigarette illicit trade in the past decade. Such a stability, however, occurred in a world of shrinking tobacco consumption, implying a decreasing absolute illicit trade. Most countries have progressed in increasing tobacco taxes and changing tax structures. Prices of illicit cigarettes follow legal cigarette prices. Concomitantly, many new studies, independent from the tobacco industry, have been conducted allowing for better understanding of the illicit trade and providing inputs to its solution. The entry into force of the WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products provides both a global and a national policy framework to further curb illicit trade. Instruments such as track-and-trace systems must be promoted and adopted to maximise reductions in illicit trade.ConclusionsGlobal efforts to curb the illicit trade in tobacco products are gaining momentum and progress has been made in many parts of the world. The next decade can witness a decisive decrease in tobacco consumption, both licit and illicit, if countries further engage in international collaboration.

show abstract

Illicit tobacco trade: empty pack survey in eight Argentinean cities

Cited by 6 publications

References 17 publications

Differential price responses for tobacco consumption: implications for tax incidence

Differential price responses for tobacco consumption: implications for tax incidence

Regional implications of the tobacco value chain in Paraguay

Illicit trade in tobacco products: recent trends and coming challenges

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About