|
Europe
- EU Member States
- Non-EU Countries,
EU Candidates and Former Soviet Republics
Africa
- South Africa
-
About
ITEN-S. Africa
-
Background and
Significance
-
Research Priorities
-
Activities
-
Research Products
Latin America
- Mexico
- Other Latin
American Countries
|
 |
 
Evaluation of the effects of smoking interventions
on smoking behavior, and the macroeconomic impact of smoking intervention.
1. Impact of the tobacco
control measures in South Africa.
The primary aim of a tobacco control policy is to reduce tobacco consumption
in order to reduce the morbidity and mortality impact of the product.
The debate about the recent legislation has highlighted the complexities
of tobacco control, and the numerous linkages that exist. Groups that
are influenced, to some degree or another include the following:
- growers
of leaf tobacco,
- the
cigarette manufacturing industry,
- advertising
agencies,
- the
hospitality industry,
- the
government's Department of Finance, and
- existing
and potential smokers.
The impact of tobacco control legislation on industries
dependent on tobacco will be investigated, focusing on the turnover, profitability
and employment in each of these industries.
2. Relationship between cigarette
taxes, retail prices, consumption and government revenue.
Of all tobacco control tools available, increases in cigarette excise
taxes seem to be the most effective. It is a visible, measurable and quick
mechanism. Also, it generates money for the fiscus, rather than costing
money, as is the case with most other tobacco control interventions. A
sizeable literature on the relationship between excise tax, cigarette
prices, cigarette consumption and government revenue has been generated
over time (Van Walbeek, 1996 and 2000 and Van der Merwe and Annett, 1998).
However, given the importance of this tool, it is important to monitor
how the relationships between the various variables develop. The South
African Ministry of Finance is particularly interested in this analysis.
3. Distributional impact of changes in excise
taxes.
Some development economists argue that, even though excise tax increases
are an effective tobacco control instrument, it is inappropriate because
it places a disproportionately heavy burden on the poor. Since the poor
generally spend a higher percentage of their income on tobacco products
than the rich, this would imply that tobacco taxes are regressive. Tobacco
control economists (Jha and Chaloupka, 2000) argue that although the tax
is regressive, increases in the tax are likely to decrease the regressiveness
of the tax. The reason for this is that the poor, in contrast to the rich,
are more likely to decrease their cigarette consumption in reaction to a
price increase. This implies that the demand of the poor is more price elastic
than that of the rich. Preliminary studies, based on a comparison of 1990
and 1995 household survey data, support the latter view.
Preliminary studies, based on a comparison of 1990 and 1995 household survey
data, support the latter view. These studies are extremely data intensive
and probably for this reason they are not performed regularly. (To the researchers'
knowledge, the only non-US studies investigating the relationship between
income and the price elasticity of demand were performed by Townsend (1987),
and Townsend, et al. (1994), for the UK, and Sayginsoy, et al. (2000), for
Bulgaria.) In 2002 the 2000 Income and Expenditure survey will be released.
This data will enable one to investigate changes in cigarette spending patterns
between 1995 and 2000. Specifically, given that the real price of cigarettes
increased dramatically in this period, one can determine the impact of real
price increases on the different income groups.
4. Role of research, lobbying
and political will in implementing a tobacco control policy.
South Africa's tobacco control legislation did not come easy. It was vehemently
opposed by the tobacco industry and a number of industries that had an
economic stake in the industry. Much lobbying by the medical profession
and dedicated tobacco control groups was required to get the government
to act. Only after 1994 did the government fully embrace the tobacco control
cause. The government's tobacco control attempts were met with strong
opposition. Despite this, the government was able to pass comprehensive
legislation against tobacco advertising and sponsorship, and enforce clean
indoor air policies in all public and work places. South Africa's tobacco
control policy was the culmination of a process that involved effective
lobbying, policy-relevant research, and strong political leadership. In
the process many important lessons were learnt. Many of these lessons
are applicable to other countries.
5. Research support.
Tobacco control research is well-established in South Africa and a sizeable
literature has been generated to date. The University of Cape Town has
been actively involved in tobacco control research. One of the priorities
of the research programme is to disseminate the research techniques to
a wide audience in other developing countries, especially in Africa. This
is likely to take the form of workshops, joint research projects and individual
mentoring, as and when the opportunity for such collaboration arises.
|
