OECD Calls on Latin America, Caribbean to Raise Tobacco Taxes

Latin American and Caribbean countries should raise cigarette taxes after years of progress in using taxes to cut smoking rates slowed in recent years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report released Monday.

The average tobacco tax per pack of cigarettes in Latin America and the Caribbean increased from US$1.20 in 2008 to US$2 in 2016, but only went up from US$2.10 to US$2.40 between 2017 and 2022, the OECD said, using purchase power parity as a measure to compare the rates.

“There is an urgent need for a new wave of tobacco tax reforms ...