title: Australia's $40 per pack cigarette tax plans: the need to consider equity.
abstract: In May 2016, the Australian Government announced that it would implement annual increases in tobacco excise of 12.5% up to and including 2020, raising the cost of a pack of cigarettes to $A40. This increase will lead to Australia having one of the highest prices of cigarettes in the world. Increasing the cost of tobacco is considered by public health experts to be one of the most effective strategies to reduce tobacco use, and is generally well supported by the public. However, tobacco tax increases differentially impact various subgroups of the population. Based on a review of existing literature, this paper examines some of the potential (unintended) consequences of the tax to individual and family income; illicit trade; social stigma and opportunities for lobbying by the tobacco industry. In light of these considerations, we offer strategies that might be used by policymakers to mitigate potential harms. While this paper focuses on the impacts primarily on populations in Australia, the consequences and strategies offered may be useful to other countries implementing tobacco excise increases.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity Training, Research and Evaluation, University of New South Wales, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia.|Ingham Institute, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Katherine T
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1060-4102
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Hirono
authors.affiliation: Global Public Health Unit, Social Policy, School of Social & Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Katherine E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003132:Commerce; D064423:Drug Trafficking; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008119:Lobbying; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D057545:Social Stigma; D013660:Taxes; D019460:Tobacco Industry; D062789:Tobacco Products
keywords: Disparities; Priority/special populations; Taxation