Kazakhstan : Overview of Tobacco Use, Tobacco Control Legislation, and Taxation
The country brief provides an overview of tobacco legislation, use, and taxation in Kazakhstan. Tobacco taxation policy practiced in Kazakhstan in 2003-2013 resulted in increased tobacco excise revenues, but was not effective in terms of public hea...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/603221560808566535/Kazakhstan-Overview-of-Tobacco-Use-Tobacco-Control-Legislation-and-Taxation http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31958 |
| Summary: | The country brief provides an overview
of tobacco legislation, use, and taxation in Kazakhstan.
Tobacco taxation policy practiced in Kazakhstan in 2003-2013
resulted in increased tobacco excise revenues, but was not
effective in terms of public health, as cigarette
consumption did not decrease. Tobacco excise taxes were
drastically increased in Kazakhstan from 1 January 2014; and
thereafter, the tobacco affordability was substantially
reduced resulting in the subsequent decline in tobacco sales
and smoking prevalence in the country. Decline in
consumption could have an effect on tobacco-related
mortality in Kazakhstan. Mortality rates of some
tobacco-related causes of death substantially declined in
Kazakhstan in 2013–2015 among men and women aged 30 to 79
years: by about 20 percent for acute ischemic heart disease
and stroke and by 30–40 percent for respiratory tuberculosis
and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Kazakhstan
returned to a policy of moderate tax increases in 2015-2019.
The reduction in tobacco affordability in 2015 was caused
not only by the excise increase but also by the tobacco
industry pricing policy and a decline in real incomes.
Tobacco consumption in Kazakhstan decreased in 2015, but the
revenue increase was smaller than expected. A moderate
excise rise in 2016- 2018 could not ensure a substantial
reduction in tobacco affordability, and annual tobacco sales
did not change much. The country experience shows that a
policy of moderate (below 30 percent annually) excise
increases cannot ensure either tobacco consumption
reductions or substantial revenue increases. The planned
annual cigarette excise increase for 2020–2021, however, is
only 12–14 percent. In recent years, electronic cigarettes
and heated tobacco appeared in the Kazakhstan market. The
key consumers of such products are young adults, who follow
modern trends, rather than dependent smokers looking for an
effective means to quit. Heated tobacco products and liquids
for electronic cigarettes will be taxed by excise from 2020,
but the excise rates are very low and should be
substantially increased. Kazakhstan has great potential to
increase its excise rates for all kinds of tobacco products
to contribute to health objectives by means of reducing
tobacco consumption. The greater the excise tax increase,
the larger the reduction in tobacco consumption and the
higher tobacco excise revenue growth will be. |
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