The Distributional Consequences of Increasing Tobacco Taxes on Colombia’s Health and Finances : An Extended Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
Since 2008, when Colombia ratified the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, available evidence of the impact of tobacco consumption, its health effects, and low tax revenues resulting from low tobacco taxation and prices had grown. By 2015, Co...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/463121507058748037/The-distributional-consequences-of-increasing-tobacco-taxes-on-Colombia-s-health-and-finances-An-extended-cost-effectiveness-analysis http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28598 |
| Summary: | Since 2008, when Colombia ratified the
Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, available evidence
of the impact of tobacco consumption, its health effects,
and low tax revenues resulting from low tobacco taxation and
prices had grown. By 2015, Colombia’s cigarette prices stood
higher than only one other country in the region, and
smoking had become the second leading modifiable risk factor
for premature mortality. At that time, reduced fiscal
revenues resulting from a sharp drop in oil prices,
accompanied by growing demand for government spending
arising partly from a change in legislation that increased
health benefits for the lower socioeconomic population, led
to a call for tax reform. The preparation of the document
was accompanied by technical training, studies, and public
fora with national and international experts, civil society,
and academia presenting evidences and arguing for increased
taxation to lead to a reduction in tobacco consumption and,
in the future, a reduction in costs to the health system.
The fora and open dialogue helped align strategies of the
Ministry of Health and Social Protection, and the Ministry
of Finance in presenting the reform to Congress for approval
with a larger academic and civil society support for this
measure. In December 2016, resulting from the
above-mentioned efforts, Colombia passed a major tax
increase on tobacco products with the goal of decreasing
smoking and improving population health. While tobacco taxes
are known to be highly effective in reducing the prevalence
of smoking, they are often criticized as being regressive in
consumption. This analysis attempts to assess the
distributional impact (across income quintiles) of the new
tax on selected health and financial outcomes. |
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