Costa Rica : Overview of Tobacco Use, Tobacco Control Legislation, and Taxation
This brief provides an overview of tobacco control legislation, use, and taxation in the country. Costa Rica ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2008. General Law for the Control of Tobacco and its Harmful Effects on Health...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/875941561129314789/Costa-Rica-Overview-of-Tobacco-Use-Tobacco-Control-Legislation-and-Taxation http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31964 |
| Summary: | This brief provides an overview of
tobacco control legislation, use, and taxation in the
country. Costa Rica ratified the WHO Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control in 2008. General Law for the Control of
Tobacco and its Harmful Effects on Health was adopted in
March 2012, and it regulates smoke-free places; tobacco
advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, as well as tobacco
packaging and labeling in line with FCTC guidelines. This
law also sets several norms on tobacco taxation, and it
substantially increased the tax burden for cigarettes. In
2012, cigarette prices in Costa Rica increased by 49
percent, and in 2013, the tobacco excise revenue increased
by 96 percent. Tobacco taxation and other tobacco control
policies in Costa Rica were very successful in terms of
public health. The prevalence of smoking both among adults
and adolescents declined, and after 2012, the rates of
decline increased. In 2015, only 5.8 percent of the adult
population smoked daily. In 2018, cigarette production in
the country was closed. The tobacco industry claimed that
the closure had been caused by increased cigarette
smuggling. However, there are no independent estimates of
illicit cigarette share on the market, while the tobacco
industry used to exaggerate the volumes of smuggled
cigarettes. The difference in cigarette prices between Costa
Rica and neighboring countries is rather small and is unable
to encourage large smuggling. Thus, the observed illicit
cigarette sales are likely caused by the factors, which are
not related directly to tobacco taxation. |
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