Cigarette Tax Scorecard (2nd Edition): Southeastern Europe

This regional Policy Brief was written based on the findings of the second edition of the Cigarette Tax Scorecard. The policy brief evaluates and compares the cigarette tax policies in seven countries in Southeastern Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia. The average overall score in these countries was 3.25 points out of 5. Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina scored the highest with 3.63 points, while Albania scored the lowest with only 2.25 points. 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 countries scored well in the tax share of price component (an average of 4.14 points out of 5). The most significant challenge in the area is the affordability of cigarettes, as the countries scored only 1.86 points in that component on average. The policy brief further makes policy recommendations for governments to address the high smoking prevalence in the area through improved cigarette tax policies.

View the entire 2nd edition of the Cigarette Tax Scorecard here. 

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