Interaction Between State-Level Cigarette Prices and County-Level Tobacco 21 Coverage on Cigarette Smoking Outcomes Among US Adolescents.

PURPOSE: To examine whether Tobacco 21 (T21) law coverage moderated associations between cigarette prices and adolescent smoking and associated disparities. METHODS: We used nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional 2014-2020 Monitoring the Future study data (n = 20,547-96,083) to examine associations between state-level average cigarette price per pack and county-level T21 coverage (100% vs. < 100%) on past 30-day smoking participation, first and daily cigarette smoking initiation, and smoking intentions in US adolescents in eighth, 10th, and 12th grade. We implemented weighted, grade-stratified, modified Poisson regression models to test for interactions between price and T21 coverage for each outcome. We also tested for disparities by sex, race and ethnicity, parental education, and college educational expectations. RESULTS: Higher cigarette prices were associated with a lower probability of past 30-day smoking participation among eighth graders in counties with < 100% T21 coverage (average marginal effect = -0.003, 95% confidence interval = -0.006, 0.000) but not among eighth graders in counties with 100% T21 coverage (average marginal effect = 0.001, 95% confidence interval = -0.001, 0.004) (p for interaction = 0.005). There were no associations with other smoking outcomes or grades or evidence of differential associations by sociodemographic factors. DISCUSSION: Our findings suggested that higher cigarette prices were associated with lower adolescent smoking among eighth graders living in counties with < 100% T21 coverage. However, no such association was observed in other grades or smoking outcomes. Further investigation is necessary to determine the best combination of policies to reduce adolescent smoking, related sociodemographic disparities, and the use of other tobacco products in areas with fewer tobacco control policies.

Increased taxes and regulation of Indian cigarillos (bidi) industry: Effects on revenue and years of life lost.

INTRODUCTION: Indian cigarillos (bidi) are low-cost alternatives to cigarettes with only 22% imposed taxes, and turnover of upto INR 4 million per annum exempted from taxation. This paper estimates revenue implications and potential loss of life years (YLLs) averted, if bidi industry is subjected to increased regulations and taxation. METHODS: Revenue estimated at 10% increased regulation and 100% regulation were calculated, followed by estimates at taxes equivalent to cigarettes and World Health Organization - Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) recommendation. Price elasticity was considered to assess demand. Price change in separate fractions (previously regulated and unregulated) were calculated to obtain potential YLLs averted. RESULTS: Current revenue of USD 59.25 million is projected to increase to USD 179.25 million with 695,159 averted YLLs at cigarette equivalent taxes and 10% increased regulation; USD 639.38 million with 4,527,597 averted YLLs with 100% regulation; USD 54.75 million, at WHO recommended taxes with 2,233,740 YLLs averted at 10% increased regulation, and 10,486,192 YLLs at 100% regulation. CONCLUSION: Proposed estimates are inline with WHO recommendations as they consider price elasticity and suggest substantial increase in revenue, while averting YLLs. A national action is needed to drive the policy decisions towards increased regulation and taxation and revision of India's tobacco control legislation. IMPLICATIONS: Our study presented empirical evidence of how the currently underutilized tool of taxation, as proposed in the WHO-FCTC, can be utilized to decrease bidi smoking prevalence and save measurable life years while generating government revenue simultaneously. While the revenue statistics counter the misleading tobacco industry narratives, the projected reduction in mortality will be seen as an irrefutable driving force for policy reforms, targeted at strategic increase in regulation and taxation of the traditional Indian cigarillos industry.

Evolving waste management: The impact of environmental technology, taxes, and carbon emissions on incineration in EU countries.

Amid the urgent global imperatives concerning climate change and resource preservation, our research delves into the critical domains of waste management and environmental sustainability within the European Union (EU), collecting data from 1990 to 2022. The Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) results reveal a resounding commitment among EU member states to diminish their reliance on incineration, which is evident through adopting green technologies and environmentally conscious taxation policies, aligning with the European Union's sustainability objectives. However, this transition presents the intricate task of harmonizing industrial emissions management with efficient waste disposal. Tailoring waste management strategies to accommodate diverse consumption patterns and unique circumstances within individual member states becomes imperative. Cointegrating regressions highlighted the long-run relationship among the selected variables, while Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) and Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) estimates roughly confirmed MMQR results. ML analyses, conducted through two ensemble methods (Gradient Boosting, GB, and Extreme Gradient Boosting, XGBoost) shed light on the relative importance of the predictors: in particular, environmental taxation, consumption-based emissions, and production-based emissions greatly contribute to determining the variation of combustible renewables and waste. This study recommends that EU countries establish monitoring mechanisms to advance waste management and environmental sustainability through green technology adoption, enhance environmental taxation policies, and accelerate the renewable energy transition.

Relationship Between Product Features and the Prices of e-Cigarette Devices Sold in Web-Based Vape Shops: Comparison Study Using a Linear Regression Model.

BACKGROUND: Open-system electronic cigarette (EC) product features, such as battery capacity, maximum output wattage, and so forth, are major components that drive product costs and may influence use patterns. Moreover, continued innovation and monitoring of product features and prices will provide critical information for designing appropriate taxation policies and product regulations. OBJECTIVE: This study will examine how product features are associated with the prices of devices sold in web-based vape shops. METHODS: We draw samples from 5 popular, US-based, web-based vape shops from April to August 2022 to examine starter kits, device-only products, and e-liquid container-only products. We implemented a linear regression model with a store-fixed effect to examine the association between device attributes and prices. RESULTS: EC starter kits or devices vary significantly by type, with mod prices being much higher than pod and vape pen prices. The prices of mod starter kits were even lower than those of mod devices, suggesting that mod starter kits are discounted in web-based vape shops. The price of mod kits, mod device-only products, and pod kits increased as the battery capacity and output wattage increased. For vape pens, the price was positively associated with the volume size of the e-liquid container. On the other hand, the price of pod kits was positively associated with the number of containers. CONCLUSIONS: A unit-based specific tax, therefore, will impose a higher tax burden on lower-priced devices such as vape pens or pod systems and a lower tax burden on mod devices. A volume- or capacity-based specific tax on devices will impose a higher tax burden on vape pens with a larger container size. Meanwhile, ad valorem taxes pegged to wholesale or retail prices would apply evenly across device types, meaning those with advanced features such as higher battery capacities and output wattage would face higher rates. Therefore, policy makers could manipulate tax rates by device type to discourage the use of certain device products.

Corrigendum: Systematic review on fiscal policy interventions in nutrition.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.967494.].

Exposure to cigarette taxes as a teenager and the persistence of smoking into adulthood.

Are teenage and adult smoking causally related? Recent anti-tobacco policy is predicated on the assumption that preventing teenagers from smoking will ensure that fewer adults smoke, but direct evidence in support of this assumption is scant. Using data from three nationally representative sources and instrumenting for teenage smoking with cigarette taxes experienced at ages 14-17, we document a strong positive relationship between teenage and adult smoking: deterring 10 teenagers from smoking through raising cigarette taxes roughly translates into 5 fewer adult smokers. We conclude that efforts to reduce teenage smoking can have long-lasting consequences on smoking participation and, presumably, health.

Environmental taxes, technological innovation and firm performance: Evidence from China's manufacturing firms.

Based on panel data from 2011 to 2019 for heavily polluting listed firms in the manufacturing industry, this paper examines the impact of environmental taxes on technological innovation and firm performance using the propensity score matching (PSM) and differences-in-differences (DID) methods. The empirical results show the following: (i) Firm performance and innovation quantity are positively affected by environmental taxes. The average effects of environmental taxes on firm performance and innovation quantity are 1.28 and 0.219, respectively. However, environmental taxes have no significant impact on innovation quality. (ii) A mechanism analysis reveals that innovation quantity plays a significant partial mediating role in the positive effect of environmental taxes on firm performance. (iii) Heterogeneity analysis shows that different environmental tax rates lead to a variation in innovation quantity and firm performance across regions. The positive effect of environmental taxes on innovation quantity is only confirmed in high-tax and low-tax areas. Meanwhile, high environmental taxes are related to better firm performance. Based on the research, policy recommendations are put forward to optimise environmental taxes, such as improving the environmental tax system and coordinating environmental tax and innovation policies.

The impact of Chinese foreign direct investment and environmental tax revenues on air degradation in Europe: a spatial regression approach, 2000-2020.

This study analyzes air pollution through the effects of China's FDI in 27 European countries over a 20-year period, with a focus on the impact of environmental tax revenues (ETRs) and the environmental context in China. The relationship is estimated through spatial regressions that account for the presence of air pollutants in neighboring countries. The findings suggest that China's FDI in Europe does not contribute to air pollution but rather has a positive impact. The presence of environmental charges filters out non-polluting investments, which has a non-linear relationship with PM2.5 pollution rates. The study also concludes that air pollution is closely linked to the global environmental context, highlighting the positive effects of international agreements in the fight against climate change. Specifically, the study finds a link between China's efforts to address its polluting activities and their impact on European air quality.

The impact of cigarette cost on pack sales per capita consumption in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: Evidence suggests that cigarette costs significantly impact tobacco use, yet the effect of state-level cost variations on cigarette sales per capita in the US remains uncertain. This study investigates how state-level cigarette costs affect pack sales per capita consumption. STUDY DESIGN: This was an observational study of cigarette-pack sales per capita consumption in the United States. METHODS: We used the tobacco tax burden data (1989-2019) and a two-way fixed-effects model to analyse how cigarette costs affect consumption. Our predictor variables were average cost per pack, state tax per pack, and combined federal and state tax as a percentage of the retail price. Additionally, we compared the percentage change in state cigarette taxes per pack for each state in five-year intervals, adjusting for inflation. RESULTS: Regression analysis revealed that a 10% increase in the average cost per pack was related to a 9.59% decrease in per capita cigarette consumption (ß_average cost = -0.959, P < 0.001). Similarly, a rise in state tax per pack and a higher tax as a proportion of the retail price per pack were related to a decline in consumption (ß_ state tax = -0.176, P < 0.001), (ß_retail price = -0.323, P < 0.001). States that raised cigarette taxes beyond the rate of inflation had a higher reduction in cigarette per capita sales than those maintaining stable tax rates. CONCLUSIONS: Some states have not raised their cigarette taxes sufficiently to account for inflation. It appears that cigarette costs have significantly reduced cigarette consumption in the US.

Beyond the smoke: Historical analysis of the revenue implications of state cigarette tax policies, 1989 to 2019.

INTRODUCTION: While cigarette taxes are a vital tobacco control tool, their impact on cigarette tax revenue has been largely understudied in the extant literature. This study examines how the level of cigarette taxes affects the revenue generated from cigarettes in the United States over a thirty-year period. METHODS: We obtained the Tax Burden Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1989-2019). Our dependent variables were gross cigarette tax revenue and per capita gross cigarette tax revenue, and our independent variable was state tax per pack. We used two-way fixed effects to estimate the relationship between state cigarette tax revenue and cigarette taxes, adjusting for state-level sociodemographic characteristics, state-fixed effects, and time trends. RESULTS: The study reveals that raising cigarette state tax by 10 % led to a 7.2 % to 7.5 % increase in cigarette tax revenue. We also found state and regional variation in taxes and revenue, with the Northeast region having the highest taxes per pack and tax revenues. In 2019, most states had low or moderate taxes per pack and tax revenues per capita, while a few states had high taxes per pack and tax revenues per capita. CONCLUSIONS: Our research demonstrates the positive impact of increased cigarette taxes on state tax revenue over three decades. Not only do higher taxes aid in tobacco control, but they also enhance state revenues that can be reinvested in state initiatives. Some states could potentially optimize their tax rates.

Support for a hypothetical sugar-sweetened beverage tax in Taiwan.

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are drinks that contain added sugar or sweeteners and provide calories with no additional nutrients, and some countries have imposed additional taxes on the SSBs to reduce consumption, which is considered an SSB tax policy. This study used a cross-sectional online survey to examine the patterns of public support for an SSB tax in Taiwan. The sample included 1617 adults aged ≥ 20 years, who answered the survey questionnaire between May 2020 and April 2021. The respondents were recruited using convenience sampling, but sampling weights were applied to represent the Taiwanese population. Generalized ordered logit models with sampling weights were used to examine the correlates of public support for an SSB tax. Results showed that ~60% of the respondents supported the SSB tax and 47% perceived the tax to be effective. The respondents who were aware of the perceived health risks of SSBs or those who believed that one should be partly responsible for the health impact of SSBs were more likely to show support for the SSB tax. In adjusted regression models, both one's perceived risk and perceived responsibility of SSBs were positively associated with the perceived effectiveness of the SSB tax after sociodemographic characteristics were controlled. These research findings show evidence that there is public support for implementing an SSB tax to reduce SSB consumption in Taiwan.

Associations between alcohol taxes and varied health outcomes among women of reproductive age and infants.

OBJECTIVE: No studies have examined whether alcohol taxes may be relevant for reducing harms related to pregnant people's drinking. METHOD: We examined how beverage-specific ad valorem, volume-based, and sales taxes are associated with outcomes across three data sets. Drinking outcomes came from women of reproductive age in the 1990-2020 US National Alcohol Surveys (N = 11 659 women $\le$ 44 years); treatment admissions data came from the 1992-2019 Treatment Episode Data Set: Admissions (N = 1331 state-years; 582 436 pregnant women admitted to treatment); and infant and maternal outcomes came from the 2005-19 Merative Marketscan® database (1 432 979 birthing person-infant dyads). Adjusted analyses for all data sets included year fixed effects, state-year unemployment and poverty, and accounted for clustering by state. RESULTS: Models yield no robust significant associations between taxes and drinking. Increased spirits ad valorem taxes were robustly associated with lower rates of treatment admissions [adjusted IRR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.91, 0.99]. Increased wine and spirits volume-based taxes were both robustly associated with lower odds of infant morbidities [wine aOR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96, 0.99; spirits aOR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.00] and lower odds of severe maternal morbidities [wine aOR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.97; spirits aOR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92, 0.97]. Having an off-premise spirits sales tax was also robustly related to lower odds of severe maternal morbidities [aOR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.64, 0.96]. CONCLUSIONS: Results show protective associations between increased wine and spirits volume-based and sales taxes with infant and maternal morbidities. Policies that index tax rates to inflation might yield more public health benefits, including for pregnant people and infants.

The association between excise taxes and smoking and vaping transitions-Findings from the 2016-2020 ITC United States surveys.

BACKGROUND: While a growing number of studies examined the effect of e-cigarette (EC) excise taxes on tobacco use behaviors using cross-sectional surveys or sales data, there are currently no studies that evaluate the impact of EC taxes on smoking and vaping transitions. METHODS: Using data from the US arm of the 2016-2020 International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey (ITC 4CV), we employed a multinomial logit model with two-way fixed effects to simultaneously estimate the impacts of cigarette/EC taxes on the change in smoking and vaping frequencies. RESULTS: Our benchmark model suggests that a 10 % increase in cigarette taxes led to an 11 % reduction in smoking frequencies (p < 0.01), while EC taxes did not have a significant effect on smoking frequencies. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that increasing cigarette taxes may serve as an effective means of encouraging people who smoke to cut back on smoking or quit smoking. The impact of increasing EC taxes on smoking transitions is less certain at this time.

Perspective: Mexico's Experience in Building a Toolkit for Obesity and Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with a higher risk of death in low- and middle-income countries. Diet and excess weight are risk factors for NCDs. In Mexico, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased dramatically in the last 30 y and is among the highest in the world. To address this public health problem, governments and public health professionals have several policy instruments available. In this study, we present the policy instruments currently approved in Mexico, which include fiscal, informational, and authoritative tools that aim to improve the food environment and promote healthy behaviors (taxes, school food guidelines, front-of-pack labeling, marketing regulations, and dietary guidelines). These types of interventions are important in regions like Latin America, where social inequities and poor access to information are common, and individual healthy choices are often limited. These interventions target the environments in which individuals live, study, work, and seek entertainment, while limiting access to unhealthy choices and offering information to promote healthy alternatives. The Mexican experience in design, implementation, and evaluation of policies to improve the food environment can be useful for other low- and middle-income countries facing similar challenges.

Do financial constraint and perceived stress modify the effects of food tax schemes on food purchases: moderation analyses in a virtual supermarket experiment.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether financial constraint and perceived stress modify the effects of food-related taxes on the healthiness of food purchases. DESIGN: Moderation analyses were conducted with data from a trial where participants were randomly exposed to: a control condition with regular food prices, an sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax condition with a two-tiered levy on the sugar content in SSB (5-8 g/100 ml: €0·21 per l and ≥8 g/100 ml: €0·28 per l) or a nutrient profiling tax condition where products with Nutri-Score D or E were taxed at a 20 percent level. Outcome measures were overall healthiness of food purchases (%), energy content (kcal) and SSB purchases (litres). Effect modification was analysed by adding interaction terms between conditions and self-reported financial constraint or perceived stress in regression models. Outcomes for each combination of condition and level of effect modifier were visualised. SETTING: Virtual supermarket. PARTICIPANTS: Dutch adults (n 386). RESULTS: Financial constraint or perceived stress did not significantly modify the effects of food-related taxes on the outcomes. Descriptive analyses suggest that in the control condition, the overall healthiness of food purchases was lowest, and SSB purchases were highest among those with moderate/high levels of financial constraint. Compared with the control condition, in a nutrient profiling tax condition, the overall healthiness of food purchases was higher and SSB purchases were lower, especially among those with moderate/high levels of financial constraint. Such patterns were not observed for perceived stress. CONCLUSION: Further studies with larger samples are recommended to assess whether food-related taxes differentially affect food purchases of subgroups.

Off-premises demand elasticities for pure alcohol in five Latin American countries: The case of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Uruguay.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is ample evidence from high-income countries that fiscal policies such as alcohol taxes can affect the consumption of alcohol by increasing alcohol prices. In the case of Latin American countries, much less is known about how sensitive alcohol demand is to alcohol price changes. This study aims to expand the evidence base on the sensitivity of off-premises pure alcohol demand to price and expenditure increases in five Latin American countries: Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Uruguay, which have different socioeconomic profiles and alcohol consumption patterns. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study MEASUREMENTS: The price and expenditure elasticities were estimated using an Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS). Own price and expenditure elasticities for off-premises pure alcohol were estimated using representative household surveys, which collect data on households' expenses to construct the consumer basket of goods and services used to calculate the consumer price index (CPI) for the country. FINDINGS: Own price elasticities of off-premises pure alcohol for all countries were negative, inelastic, and significant at 1 %. They were -0.418 for Argentina; -0.656 for Chile; and for Costa Rica, Honduras, and Uruguay, they were equal to -0.608, -0.509, and -0.32, respectively. Expenditure elasticities were positive and significant at 1 %, except for Costa Rica, which was significant at 10 %. They were equal to 0.865 in Argentina; 0.943 in Chile; 1.182 in Costa Rica; 0.874 in Honduras; and 0.857 in Uruguay. Elasticities for Costa Rica should be interpreted cautiously, as there is insufficient geographical price variability to identify the demand correctly. CONCLUSIONS: Results were consistent with previous literature for countries from other regions. Governments should expand this study to measure total demand elasticities to improve the design of alcohol tax policies.

Carbon Pricing is not Unjust.

The aim of this perspective is to argue that carbon pricing is not unjust. Two important dimensions of justice are distributive and procedural (sometimes called "participatory") justice. In terms of distributive justice, it is argued that carbon pricing can be made distributionally just through revenue recycling and that it should be expected that even neutral reductions in emissions will generate progressive benefits, both internationally and regionally. In terms of procedural justice, it is argued that carbon pricing is in principle compatible with any procedure; however, there is also a particular morally justifiable procedure, the Citizens' Assembly, which has been implemented in Ireland on this precise question and has generated broad agreement on carbon pricing. It is suggested that this morally matters because such groups are like "ideal advisors" that offer morally important advice. Finally, an independent objection is offered to some ambitious alternatives to carbon pricing like Green New Deal-type frameworks, frameworks that aim to simultaneously tackle multiple social challenges. The objection is that these will take too long to work in a climate context, both to develop and to iterate.

Effect of green taxation on renewable energy technologies: an analysis of commonwealth and non-commonwealth countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

African nations encounter difficulties enforcing regulations and providing incentives for using renewable energy sources. However, several nations are making efforts to encourage renewable energy through financial and tax advantages. Therefore, a shift to renewable energy is essential for African nations to experience sustainable growth and lessen environmental deterioration. Similarly, the extant literature examining green taxes' influence on renewable energy technology has documented equivocal findings. Hence, there is a need for a more thorough investigation. This study, therefore, explores the influence of green taxation on renewable energy technologies of emerging countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. We employed data from a sample of 28 countries of 54 African countries spanning 21 years from 2001 to 2021, providing a panel of 588 country-year observations. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank Dataset provided all the study's data. A heterogeneous dynamic panel data modelling using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) has been adopted. The study found that green taxes might be used to mitigate the adverse effects of non-renewable energy activities on the environment in Africa. Considering the findings of the components of green taxes, it was recognised that an increase in energy-related tariffs would lead to a growth in Africa's use of renewable energy. It was further established that an increase in transport taxes increases the adoption of renewable energy technologies in Africa. A comparative analysis between the commonwealth and non-commonwealth countries showed that green taxes of commonwealth countries in Africa significantly contribute to the growth of renewable energy technologies compared to non-commonwealth countries in Africa. Primarily, the results of this study can be a valuable resource for African governments and policymakers as they develop policies and evaluate legislation about the usage of renewable energy sources and other green practices. Finally, the study can shed light on creating and using efficient tax laws that support renewable energy sources.

Fiscal analysis of the pediatric immunization program in Belgium applying a lifetime government perspective framework.

OBJECTIVES: A public economic framework was used to explore lifetime government costs and benefits in relation to the Pediatric Immunization Program (PIP) in Belgium based on cases and deaths averted. METHODS: To estimate changes in net government revenue, we developed a decision-analytic model that quantifies lifetime tax revenues and transfers based on changes in morbidity and mortality arising from Belgium's Pediatric Immunization Program (PIP). The model considered differences in incidence rates with vaccines included in Belgium's PIP: compared with the pre-vaccine era. Changes in deaths and comorbid conditions attributed to PIP on the Belgium 2020 birth cohort were used to estimate gross lifetime earnings changes, tax revenue gains attributed to averted morbidity and mortality avoidance, disability transfer cost savings, and averted special education costs associated with each vaccine. RESULTS: Vaccinating a single birth cohort according to the PIP gives rise to fiscal gains of €56 million in averted tax revenue loss, €8 million disability savings, and €6 million special education cost-savings. Based on the costs of implementing the PIP, we estimate the fiscal benefit-cost ratio (fBCR) of €2.2 investment return for the government from every €1 invested excluding longevity costs. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing vaccine-preventable conditions generates tax revenue for the government, providing fiscal justification for sustained immunization investments.