Increasing the Cigarette Excise Tax Would Reduce the Prevalence of Daily Smoking and Delay Smoking Initiation in Argentina

This Policy Brief was written by Fiona Franco-Churruarin and Martin Gonzalez-Rozada. The policy brief examines the determinants of daily smoking prevalence and smoking initiation in Argentina. 16.8% of Argentinians are daily smokers, and this prevalence is higher among men and the low-income group. The authors estimate that the daily smoking prevalence elasticity is -0.108, which suggests that a 10% increase in the price of cigarettes would reduce daily smoking prevalence by 1.08%. The findings also suggest that this price increase would delay smoking initiation by 4.3%, or around 4 months. The policy brief concludes that increasing the price of cigarettes through excise tax policies would reduce daily smoking and effectively delay smoking initiation in Argentina.

[SPANISH]

A corresponding Report can be found here.