Cigarette Tax Scorecard: Affordability Change

This Policy Note was written based on the Cigarette Tax Scorecard. The policy note elaborates on one of the four scoring components used in the Scorecard: affordability change. This component of the score measures the the trend in cigarette affordability, using the average annual percentage change (AAPC) in the affordability index over a six year period. The highest score of 5 points is awarded to countries with an average annual reduction of at least 7.5%. In 2018, the average score in this component was only 1.18 points out of 5. There is significant room for improvement globally, although the European region and upper-middle-income countries perform best. The policy note further discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the measure, as well as recommendations for policy makers.