Taxing tobacco can help raise much needed revenue and save lives, but it needs to be done well. This “How-to” note provides guidance on the basics of tobacco taxation. How high should tobacco taxes be? Should we use ad valorem or specific taxes? What are the key elements of an efficient tax administration that will secure the tax base and prevent illegal trade? These are important questions that need to be addressed and this note provide a sound first step towards solid policy decisions.

Tobacco use kills more people than any other addiction and we know that addiction starts in childhood and youth. We all agree that youths should not smoke, but how can this be accomplished? What prevention messages will they find compelling? What effect does tobacco advertisingâ€"more than $10 million worth every dayâ€"have on youths? Can we responsibly and effectively restrict their access to tobacco products? These questions and more are addressed in Growing Up Tobacco Free, prepared by the Institute of Medicine to help everyone understand the troubling issues surrounding youths and tobacco use. Growing Up Tobacco Free provides a readable explanation of nicotine's effects and the process of addiction, and documents the search for an effective approach to preventing the use of cigarettes, chewing and spitting tobacco, and snuff by children and youths. It covers the results of recent initiatives to limit young people's access to tobacco and discusses approaches to controls or bans on tobacco sales, price sensitivity among adolescents, and arguments for and against taxation as a prevention strategy for tobacco use. The controversial area of tobacco advertising is thoroughly examined. With clear guidelines for public action, everyone can benefit by reading and acting on the messages in this comprehensive and compelling book.

Tobacco use has declined because of measures such as high taxes on tobacco products and bans on advertising, but worldwide there are still more than one billion people who regularly use tobacco, including many who purchase products illicitly. By contrast to many other commodities, taxes comprise a substantial portion of the retail price of cigarettes in the United States and most other nations. Large tax differentials between jurisdictions increase incentives for participation in existing illicit tobacco markets. In the United States, the illicit tobacco market consists mostly of bootlegging from low-tax states to high-tax states and is less affected by large-scale smuggling or illegal production as in other countries. In the future, nonprice regulation of cigarettes - such as product design, formulation, and packaging - could in principle, contribute to the development of new types of illicit tobacco markets. Understanding the U.S. Illicit Tobacco Market reviews the nature of illicit tobacco markets, evidence for policy effects, and variations among different countries with a focus on implications for the United States. This report estimates the portion of the total U.S. tobacco market represented by illicit sales has grown in recent years and is now between 8.5 percent and 21 percent. This represents between 1.24 to 2.91 billion packs of cigarettes annually and between $2.95 billion and $6.92 billion in lost gross state and local tax revenues. Understanding the U.S. Illicit Tobacco Market describes the complex system associated with illicit tobacco use by exploring some of the key features of that market - the cigarette supply chain, illicit procurement schemes, the major actors in the illicit trade, and the characteristics of users of illicit tobacco. This report draws on domestic and international experiences with the illicit tobacco trade to identify a range of possible policy and enforcement interventions by the U.S. federal government and/or states and localities.

Tobacco use is the single largest cause of preventable death globally, killing more than five million people each year. Tobacco use also creates considerable economic costs, from greater spending on health care to treat the diseases it brings on in users and those exposed to tobacco smoke to the lost productivity resulting from the premature deaths it causes. Of all the many interventions for reducing tobacco use, a significant increase in tobacco product taxes and prices has been demonstrated to be the single most effective and cost-effective intervention, particularly among the poor and the young. At the same time, because of the inelasticity of demand for tobacco products in most countries and the low share of tax in price in many, significant increases in tobacco taxes generate significant increases in the revenues generated by these taxes. This technical manual aims to help governments achieve both objectives by identifying a set of "best practices" for tobacco taxation. It documents governments' existing approaches to tobacco taxation, discusses barriers to using tobacco taxes to achieve health and revenue objectives, and provides case studies of effective tobacco tax administration. This manual is intended to be useful to tax administrators at the Ministry of Finance level by making them aware of the practices used and challenges faced by other countries. It will also be useful to officials in a country's Ministry of Health or similar organizations by providing them with a more thorough understanding of key issues in tax structure and administration.

Annotation. Addresses important economic and social issues confronting policymakers when dealing with the issue of tobacco control and its impact on the social and economic resources of both developed and developing countries.

The nation has made tremendous progress in reducing tobacco use during the past 40 years. Despite extensive knowledge about successful interventions, however, approximately one-quarter of American adults still smoke. Tobacco-related illnesses and death place a huge burden on our society. Ending the Tobacco Problem generates a blueprint for the nation in the struggle to reduce tobacco use. The report reviews effective prevention and treatment interventions and considers a set of new tobacco control policies for adoption by federal and state governments. Carefully constructed with two distinct parts, the book first provides background information on the history and nature of tobacco use, developing the context for the policy blueprint proposed in the second half of the report. The report documents the extraordinary growth of tobacco use during the first half of the 20th century as well as its subsequent reversal in the mid-1960s (in the wake of findings from the Surgeon General). It also reviews the addictive properties of nicotine, delving into the factors that make it so difficult for people to quit and examines recent trends in tobacco use. In addition, an overview of the development of governmental and nongovernmental tobacco control efforts is provided. After reviewing the ethical grounding of tobacco control, the second half of the book sets forth to present a blueprint for ending the tobacco problem. The book offers broad-reaching recommendations targeting federal, state, local, nonprofit and for-profit entities. This book also identifies the benefits to society when fully implementing effective tobacco control interventions and policies.