Cigarette Tax Scorecard: Cigarette Price

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: cigarette price. This component of the score measures the price of the most-sold brand in international dollars (Intl$), adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP). The highest score of 5 points is awarded to countries where the cigarette price is at least 10 Intl$ PPP. In 2018, the average score in this component was only 2.35 points out of 5. There is significant room for improvement globally, although the European region and high-income countries perform best. The policy note further discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the measure, as well as recommendations for policy makers.