Comprehensive Approach Needed: Cigarette Taxation’s Impact on Smoking Reduction Requires Additional Measures
Taxation on cigarettes was established as one of the policies to combat smoking in Brazil, according to research carried out in partnership between the Cancer Institute (Inca) and the University of Illinois, in the United States. In parallel to this, the issue of illegal drug trafficking also proved to be influential in the Brazilian smoking epidemic.
Pedro Forquesato, professor at the Faculty of Economics, Administration, Accounting and Actuarial Science at USP, points out that around half of the cigarettes consumed in the country come from the illegal market, where taxation does not follow established standards. Thus, even with a relatively high taxation policy, without proper supervision, it becomes inefficient.
Taxes
Forquesato points out that, even though taxation is necessary for State tax control and collection, the tobacco market, which encompasses the different types of cigarettes, presents an inflexible demand. “Cigarettes are a good that we call, in economics, inelastic, they are very inelastic, which means that when you increase the price, people reduce their consumption a little, because this has an addictive effect”, he explains. the teacher.
With the Tax Reform underway, the discussion about the Selective Tax – a tax on products harmful to health and the environment that aims to discourage their consumption – seems to directly involve the cigarette trade in Brazil. However, Forquesato clarifies that the impact of the new tax may not be as effective in combating smoking, as it will replace the existing one.
On the other hand, Jaqueline Scholz, professor at the Faculty of Medicine at USP, considers that taxation acts directly on smoking by inhibiting new users and encouraging smokers in their detoxification process. Furthermore, Forquesato draws attention to the so-called “externalities” – in economics, these are the side effects of a certain action on third parties – that involve cigarettes, based on secondhand smoke. Therefore, at different levels, the taxation of such trade is extremely necessary from a medical point of view.
Health, economy and security
Based on this anti-smoking policy, more than just a positive effect on the population’s health, Jaqueline highlights the strategic benefits of collecting taxes and monitoring their good application. “Any public policy that aims to inhibit initiation and expand smoking cessation is very welcome, because, in addition to having an impact on the individual’s life, it also has repercussions in terms of public health agendas”, analyzes the professor. Thus, the policy contributes to tax revenue and, simultaneously, alleviates the burden on the health system with comorbidities arising from smoking that are preventable.
However, in the professor’s view, Brazil will face difficulties with the effective application of the policy, as there has been a containment of around 30% of the funds allocated to the Ministry of Security, one of the bodies responsible for policies aimed at controlling the crime, illegal trade. “Currently, half of the cigarettes consumed in Brazil are smuggled. And this portion does not pay taxes, that is the purpose of smuggling. So, this makes this public policy much less efficient, because you are taxing a portion of cigarettes, while you cannot tax another portion,” says Forquesato.
Furthermore, from an economic perspective, the professor highlights the damage caused by illegal trade, given that the cigarette market is quite significant in terms of revenue due to its high consumption. Another point also raised is the concern about the origin of smuggled goods, as they do not pass through any security agency. Taxation policy, therefore, is related to health, economy and security, so that action against illegal trade is established to make both the public health and economic strategies viable and advantageous.
Path traveled
“One of the public policies that the WHO itself has included in its guidelines since its 43rd assembly is to reduce advertising and increase tax prices, that is, to protect environments from cigarettes”, comments Jaqueline Scholz. The ban on the sale of cigarettes with aromatic additives also represents an advance in public policy, as it makes the product less attractive and pleasurable.
Regarding treatments for smoking, the professor points to the outpatient clinic of the Heart Institute of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of USP as one of the first to provide individual monitoring that revealed more effective results than collective treatments. Jaqueline explains that, currently, the approach is based on a tripod: psychological care, analyzing the patient’s emotional state and the role played by cigarettes; behavioral technique , restricted smoking so as not to associate cigarettes with other activities, and therapeutic treatment to assist in moments of abstinence.
As the most important forms of policies, the teacher cites the role of education about smoking and its impacts on health in schools from childhood, in order to promote awareness. Forquesato understands the need for a policy to control smuggling as the most effective way to deal with the current Brazilian scenario and cigarette consumption.