Tobacco Asia

Tobacco Asia 19 F O R T O B A C C O , S H I S H A & N G P C R E A T O R O F F L A V O U R S @ A R G E V I L L E @ A R G E V I L L E C O M P A N Y @ A R G E V I L L E C O M P A N Y W W W . A R G E V I L L E . C O M transport nationally. This represents almost 40% of all coun- tries. In 2007 only 10 countries had these bans in place, affecting 244 million people. Of the 74 countries with complete bans in place, 45 of them (60%) were middle-income countries. Out of the countries that either had no or minimal bans, 16 were high-income countries, 25 were middle-income countries, and 12 were low-income countries. Graphic warnings and plain packaging The number of countries that require large graphic warnings on tobacco products increased from 9 in 2007 to 103 in 2022. Only 21 countries (4 high-income, 11 middle-income, and 6 low- income) do not require any warning labels, while another 45 countries have warnings that cover less than 50% of the pack, lower than what the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) requires. By the end of 2022, 22 countries had legislation requiring plain packaging for tobacco products (Australia, Belgium, Can- ada, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Hungary, Ireland, Is- rael, Mauritius, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, UK, and Uruguay). Tobacco taxes In 2022, 41 countries had tax rates at 75% or more of the price of the most popular brand of cigarettes. In the two years be- tween 2020 and 2022, four countries (Australia, Lithuania, Nica- ragua, and Vanuatu) raised their tobacco taxes to 75% or more, with the most significant tax increase happening in Nicaragua (from 56.8% to 75.7%) and Vanuatu (from 58.3% to 77.5%). No low-income countries raised their taxes to 75% or above during 2020-2022. Since 2008 when 23 countries had tobacco tax rates at 75% or more, 11 high-income countries (Andorra, Australia, Croa- tia, Denmark, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Slovenia) and 11 middle-income countries and one territory (Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Montenegro, Morocco, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Palestine, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, and Vanuatu) raised taxes sufficiently to reach that level. Only one low-income country, Madagascar, began taxing at or above 75% in 2010 and currently remains the only low-income country taxing tobacco at that level. In 2022, 42% of high-income countries (25 countries) and 14% of middle-income countries (15 countries) had tobacco taxes at 75% or more. In 2022, the average total tax as a proportion of prices was highest in high-income countries, reaching 66.9%, while amounting to 56.5% in low-income countries and 59.1% in middle-income countries. Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) By 2022, 73 countries worldwide were monitoring ENDS use in adults through national population-based surveys and 103 countries were monitoring ENDS use in adolescents through national school-based surveys. Fifty-nine countries monitored both adults and adolescents, while 78 countries had not started

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