Montenegro became a Party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2006 and ratified the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products in 2017.
... See More + Tobacco excise hikes, undertaken in Montenegro in 2009-2011, were successful both in fiscal and public health terms. Revenues from tobacco excises rose from about 4 million in 2007 to 44 million euro in 2011. Annual cigarette sales declined from more than 1.5 billion cigarettes in 2008-2011 to less than 1 billion cigarettes in 2014 and further years. However, in 2013-2016, tobacco excise increases were too small to reduce tobacco affordability and tobacco sales, and tobacco revenues did not change much. In August 2017, Montenegro adopted an ambitious plan of excise tax increases; however, the tobacco industry responded with series of hidden actions (forestalling and price over-shifting) which temporarily reduced tobacco excise revenue in early 2018. As the next high increase of excise rate was scheduled for January 2018, and at the same time, VAT rate increased from 19 to 21, the industry substantially increased cigarette supply in the second half of 2017 and sharply reduced it in early 2018 as it already had in stocks large numbers of cigarettes for which excise was paid in 2017. The excise revenue substantially increased in late 2017, but declined in early 2018 despite the excise rate increase. The industry organized the media campaign to persuade the government that this revenue decline was allegedly caused by tax-driven growth in cigarette smuggling (while no rigorous evidence of such growth was presented), and the only way to fight smuggling is the reduction of cigarette excise. From September 2018, the excise rates were reduced, while they are still higher than those planned before 2017. The plan of annual tobacco excise changes until 2025 was already adopted by authorities, but the proposed changes have rather low potential to reduce the tobacco consumption and to increase government revenue. The expected total excise rate in 2025 will be below 90 euro (minimum EU level). Montenegro is able to conduct a more aggressive and successful tobacco taxation policy which can both reduce tobacco consumption and increase tobacco revenue.
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Smoking prevalence Tajikistan remains rather moderate. According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) conducted in 2016, smokers constitute 6.3 percent of the adult population of Tajikistan.
... See More + However, 12.5 percent of study participants reported consuming smokeless tobacco (nasway). Tajikistan joined the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2013. Tobacco control legislation was adopted in 2010 and amended in 2017 in line with the FCTC guidelines. The new pictorial health warnings should cover at least 75 percent of the surface on both largest sides of the packs. The amended law bans point-of-sale advertising. However, tobacco excise rates in Tajikistan were very low, and tobacco affordability was growing. In July 2018, the cigarette excise rates were increased almost 10-fold, but cigarette prices increased in 2018 only by 19 percent as the excise is still very low in monetary terms (about 0.25 USD per pack of 20 cigarettes). Cigarette taxes and prices in Tajikistan are still lower than in neighboring countries, and cigarette smuggling out of Tajikistan exceeds cigarette smuggling into the country. Special policies aiming to discourage nasway use and related surveillance activities should be implemented in Tajikistan, while the introduction of excise or other taxes for such a home-made product can hardly produce substantial benefits. Tobacco use surveillance and monitoring should be developed in the country including publicly available information on sales of tobacco products, as well as their prices, excise revenue, and other economic indicators. Tajikistan has a great potential to increase tobacco excise rates in 2019 and in the following years, as well as to contribute to health objectives related to the reducing tobacco use. The greater the excise tax increase, the larger both the reduction in tobacco consumption and tobacco excise revenue growth will be.
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This brief provides an overview of tobacco control legislation, use, and taxation in the country. Costa Rica ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2008.
... See More + General Law for the Control of Tobacco and its Harmful Effects on Health was adopted in March 2012, and it regulates smoke-free places; tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, as well as tobacco packaging and labeling in line with FCTC guidelines. This law also sets several norms on tobacco taxation, and it substantially increased the tax burden for cigarettes. In 2012, cigarette prices in Costa Rica increased by 49 percent, and in 2013, the tobacco excise revenue increased by 96 percent. Tobacco taxation and other tobacco control policies in Costa Rica were very successful in terms of public health. The prevalence of smoking both among adults and adolescents declined, and after 2012, the rates of decline increased. In 2015, only 5.8 percent of the adult population smoked daily. In 2018, cigarette production in the country was closed. The tobacco industry claimed that the closure had been caused by increased cigarette smuggling. However, there are no independent estimates of illicit cigarette share on the market, while the tobacco industry used to exaggerate the volumes of smuggled cigarettes. The difference in cigarette prices between Costa Rica and neighboring countries is rather small and is unable to encourage large smuggling. Thus, the observed illicit cigarette sales are likely caused by the factors, which are not related directly to tobacco taxation.
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