Cigarette taxation reduces inequalities in child mortality

Abstract

In The Lancet Public Health, Olivia Bannon and colleagues¹ provide empirical data to show the distinctive advantage of tobacco taxes in saving children's lives and reducing health inequalities. The authors found that substantial tax increases on cigarettes reduce mortality in children younger than 5 years (hereafter referred to as under-5 mortality), with the poorest quintile benefiting the most. However, smaller 10 percentage point increases were not associated with a significant difference between wealth quintiles. Furthermore, only specific taxes (based on quantity or weight-based taxes) were associated with reduced socioeconomic inequalities in under-5 child mortality, and not ad valorem taxes, which allow price adjustments to maintain affordability.¹ The study also shows the value in investing in data infrastructure that can be reliably used to inform public health policies.