An Economic Analysis of Tobacco Control in Thailand
Revenue from taxation of tobacco products accounts for more than 5 % of total government revenue in Thailand. The Thai tobacco industry is less significant: in 2000 it employed only 0.67 percent of the total agricultural workforce, and only 0.11 pe...
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| Format: | Publications & Research |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/10/3889712/economic-analysis-tobacco-control-thailand http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13727 |
| Summary: | Revenue from taxation of tobacco
products accounts for more than 5 % of total government
revenue in Thailand. The Thai tobacco industry is less
significant: in 2000 it employed only 0.67 percent of the
total agricultural workforce, and only 0.11 percent of all
manufacturing workers. Until 1996, tobacco prices increased
more slowly than prices of other consumer goods. After 1996
the trend reversed as tax/price policies were used to
discourage smoking. Smoking prevalence is higher among men
than women (50 percent and 3 percent respectively) and
higher in rural than urban areas (26 percent and 18 percent
respectively). Price and income elasticity of tobacco demand
are analyzed. They vary across income categories and between
urban and rural areas. Overall, price elasticity is -0.39
and income elasticity is 0.70, similar to estimates for many
other middle-income countries. Earlier studies that
estimated health costs due to tobacco use are reviewed. Two
main policy recommendations are made: to continue to use tax
policy to reduce tobacco use and future health costs, which
will also raise government revenue, and to enforce existing
tobacco control measures better. |
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