Research

Cigarette Tax Scorecard (2nd Edition): Caribbean

This Policy Brief was written based on the findings of the second edition Cigarette Tax Scorecard. The policy brief evaluates the cigarette tax policies in the Caribbean. In 2020, the average score in the region was 1.94 points out of 5, demonstrating that there is significant room for improvement. The overall score is an average of the following components: the cigarette price, changes in affordability, the tax share of the price, and the tax structure. The Caribbean region performed best on tax structure, with an average score of 3.56 points. The region performed most poorly in the tax share of price component, earning an average score of just 0.22 points out of 5. Cigarette tax policies varied widely throughout the region. The top performer was Suriname, with a score of 3.25 points, while Antigua and Barbuda received the lowest score in the region with only 0.75 points out of 5. This brief provides further recommendations for governments in the region to address these challenges and improve public health while raising tax revenues. 

View the entire Cigarette Tax Scorecard here.

Access the entire Data set with all of the country scores here.