Cigarette Tax Scorecard (3rd Edition): Africa

This Policy Brief was written based on the findings of the third edition Cigarette Tax Scorecard. The policy brief evaluates the cigarette tax policies in Africa. In 2022, the average score in the region was 1.53 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 used. The African region performed best on tax structure, with an average score of 2.98 points. Still, many countries are not employing the most effective tax structures. The region performed most poorly in reducing the affordability of cigarettes over time, earning an average score in that component of just 0.66 points out of 5. Furthermore, the regional average score on the tax share component was only 1.03 points. Cigarette tax policies varied throughout the region. The top performer was the Mauritius, with a score of 4.13 points, while Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Zambia all received only 0.5 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. 

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Read the entire 3rd edition of the Cigarette Tax Scorecard here.

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