The tax handle The Consortium, funded by Canada's International Development Research Centre <https://www.idrc.ca/en> (IDRC), has a clear mission: making tobacco less accessible. In other words, convincing the government to raise taxes. With a pack of cigarettes currently retailing for just $1, there is plenty of leeway!
"A number of studies have shown that increasing taxes on tobacco products is the most effective—and cheapest—way of reducing smoking. It delays the onset of smoking, reduces consumption, even motivates smokers to quit, and generates tax revenue for the State," continues Ms. Baldé. On paper, this measure seems simple enough to implement. In practice, however, it is an uphill battle. According to the evidence, the WHO states that just 10% of the world's population live in countries where taxes on tobacco are considered as deterrents. "There are various tax systems: flat-taxes (which are the same for all products), taxes that correspond to a percentage of the cost of the pack (which therefore increases with inflation), or a combination of the two. To be effective, the tax must have an impact on the price, be easy to apply, and take inflation into account," says Nafissatou Baldé. Above all, it must win over the decision-makers, by showing them that higher prices will make up for decreased sales. Better still, by showing them that the war on tobacco can fill the State's coffers. [image: Nafissatou Baldé, economist and coordinator of the anti-tobacco project launched by CRES in 2008.] "To do this, we need to know the costs of tobacco use that are paid for by the State, by patients, by society in general," says professor Abdoulaye Diagne, CRES director and winner of a 2014 WHO award for his exceptional contribution to tobacco control. Fittingly, his team has just launched a study to assess the health costs associated with tobacco use in 15 hospitals throughout the country. "We need solid evidence," he says, "since the tobacco industry argues that the sales revenue and the jobs created outweigh the healthcare costs." When questioned on this point, Philip Morris International, the corporation that provides products to more than 20 countries in Western and Central Africa, did not respond. Although the manufacturers' rhetoric has been refuted point-by-point by numerous scientific studies, it continues to succeed. "The industry's arguments are ingrained in the decision-makers' minds: they're worried about job losses, even though it is a highly automated industry; they say that taxes increase the risks of fraud and smuggling, yet these issues are really about crime and customs measures," laments Nafissatou Baldé, adding that "the industry has connections within government."
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