Prevalence of Daily Smoking and Initiation in Latin America [Policy Brief]

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 Latin America. Specifically, the authors focus on Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Their findings show that increasing cigarette prices by 10% would decrease daily smoking prevalence by 1.1%, 2.6%, and 4.1% in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, respectively. Furthermore, daily smoking prevalence decreases with wealth in Argentina and Brazil, while it increases with wealth in Mexico. A 10% increase in prices would also delay smoking initiation: by 5 months in Argentina, nearly 2.5 years in Brazil, and 1 year and 4 months in Mexico. The policy brief concludes that increasing the price of cigarettes through excise tax policies in the region would reduce daily smoking prevalence and effectively delay smoking initiation among youth. 

[SPANISH]

A corresponding Report can be found here.