The Impact of Cigarette Price Increases on Daily Smoking Prevalence and Initiation in Argentina

This Report was written by Fiona Franco-Churruarin and Martin Gonzalez-Rozada. The report 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 report concludes that increasing the price of cigarettes through excise tax policies would reduce daily smoking and effectively delay smoking initiation in Argentina.

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A Policy Brief based on the report can be found here.