This Policy Brief was written based on the findings of the Cigarette Tax Scorecard. The policy brief evaluates the cigarette tax policies in Latin America. In 2018, the average score in the region was 2.26 points out of 5, demonstrating that there is significant room for improvements. 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. Latin American countries performed best in the tax structure component, with 3.2 points out of 5. In contrast, the region received only 1 point in the affordability change component. Cigarette prices were not keeping up with income growth or inflation in many of the countries. Cigarette tax policies varied widely throughout the region. The top performer was Ecuador, with a score of 4.4 points out of 5, while Paraguay scored the lowest with only 0.5 points out of 5. The policy brief further makes recommendations for governments in the region to address these challenges and improve public health while raising tax revenues. 

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View the entire Cigarette Tax Scorecard here. 

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