Suchergebnisse

Las políticas sobre precios se reconocen como la medida individual más eficiente para el control del tabaco. Este estudio aporta información actualizada para Colombia y un conjunto de países latinoamericanos que fueron seleccionados, bien porque son referentes importantes desde el punto de vista de los flujos de comercio ilegal o por que reflejan el espectro de las política impositivas en tabaco en la región. El indicador de interés es la asequibilidad de los cigarrillos, medida con una recuencia anual para el período 2000-2009 utilizando dos de los enfoques metodológicos más comunes en estudios previos: el equivalente en minutos de trabajo y el porcentaje del PIB que representa en valor de 100 cajetillas (RIP). Los resultados revelan que Colombia tiene el nivel de precios más bajo de la muestra y que los cigarrillos se han abaratado a lo largo del período de análisis. Esto sugiere que existe un espacio para aumentar impuestos mucho mayor que el que actualmente reconoce el Gobierno, según lo reveló el debate político de la reciente reforma al esquema impositivo de los productos de tabaco. ; Price policies are recognized as the single most effective measure for tobacco control. This study provides updated information for Colombia and a group of Latin American countries that were selected either because they are important references from the point of view of illegal trade flows or beacuse they reflect the spectrum of tabaco tax policies in the region. The indicator of interest is the affordability of cigarettes, measured on an annual basis for the period 2000-2009 using two of the most common methodological approaches in previous studies: the equivalent in labour minutes and the percentage of GDP that represents the value of 100 packs (Relative Income Price). The results show that Colombia has the lowest price level of the sample and that cigarettes have become cheaper over the analysis period. This suggests that there is space to raise taxes much higher than currently recognized by the Government, as revealed by ...

Objective: Tobacco taxes are a well-established cost-effective policy to prevent Noncommunicable Diseases. This paper evaluates the expected effects of a tobacco tax increase on the Sustainable Development Goals in Colombia. Methods: We use microsimulation to build an artificial society that mimics the observed characteristics of Colombia's population, and from there we simulate the behavioral response to a tax increase of COP$4,750 (an increase that has been discussed by policy makers and legislators) and the subsequent effects in all SDGs. Results: The tobacco tax hike reduces the number of smokers (from 4.51 to 3.45 MM smokers) and smoking intensity, resulting in a drop in the number of cigarettes smoked in Colombia (from 332.3 to 215.5 MM of 20-stick packs). Such reduction is expected to decrease premature mortality, healthcare costs, poverty and people facing catastrophic expenditure on healthcare, to increase health, income and gender equity, and to strengthen domestic resource mobilization even in the presence of illicit cigarettes. Conclusion: Tobacco taxes are an effective intervention for public health and a powerful instrument to advance on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Relevance: A comprehensive analysis of the impact of tobacco taxes on all areas of Sustainable Development is missing in the empirical literature. Such perspective is needed to break the barriers for further tobacco tax increases by gathering wider societal support, especially from stakeholders and key decision makers from development areas other than health. SDG Nr: SDG3 (health), SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 4 (education), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG6 (water), SDG10 (inequality), SDG12 (responsible production and consumption), SDG17 (partnerships).

Since 2008, when Colombia ratified the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, available evidence of the impact of tobacco consumption, its health effects, and low tax revenues resulting from low tobacco taxation and prices had grown. By 2015, Colombia's cigarette prices stood higher than only one other country in the region, and smoking had become the second leading modifiable risk factor for premature mortality. At that time, reduced fiscal revenues resulting from a sharp drop in oil prices, accompanied by growing demand for government spending arising partly from a change in legislation that increased health benefits for the lower socioeconomic population, led to a call for tax reform. The preparation of the document was accompanied by technical training, studies, and public fora with national and international experts, civil society, and academia presenting evidences and arguing for increased taxation to lead to a reduction in tobacco consumption and, in the future, a reduction in costs to the health system. The fora and open dialogue helped align strategies of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, and the Ministry of Finance in presenting the reform to Congress for approval with a larger academic and civil society support for this measure. In December 2016, resulting from the above-mentioned efforts, Colombia passed a major tax increase on tobacco products with the goal of decreasing smoking and improving population health. While tobacco taxes are known to be highly effective in reducing the prevalence of smoking, they are often criticized as being regressive in consumption. This analysis attempts to assess the distributional impact (across income quintiles) of the new tax on selected health and financial outcomes.