Objective. Excise duties on roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco, which are generally based on RYO cigarettes containing 1g of tobacco, are lower than duties on factory-made (FM) cigarettes. This provides a price-incentive for smokers to switch to RYO, use of which is increasing across Europe. To effectively approximate duties on the two types of products requires accurate data on the weight of RYO cigarettes. We provide updated information on RYO use and RYO cigarette weight across Europe. Methods. From a representative face-to-face survey conducted in 2010 in 18 European countries (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, England, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden), we considered data from 5158 current smokers aged ≥15 years, with available information on daily consumption of, separately, FM and RYO cigarettes. Results. In Europe, 10.4% of current smokers (12.9% of men and 7.5% of women) were "predominant" RYO users (i.e., >50% of cigarettes smoked). This proportion was highest in England (27.3%), France (16.5%) and Finland (13.6%). The median weight of one RYO cigarette is 0.75g (based on 192 smokers consuming exclusively RYO cigarettes). Conclusion. The proportion of RYO smokers is substantial in several European countries. Our finding on the weight of RYO cigarettes is consistent with the scientific literature and industry documents showing that the weight of RYO cigarettes substantially lower than that of FM ones. Basing excise duties on RYO on an average cigarette weight of 0.75g rather than 1g would help increase excise levels to those on FM cigarettes.

Roll-your-own cigarettes in Europe: use, weight and implications for fiscal policies

GHISLANDI, SIMONE;
2014

Abstract

Objective. Excise duties on roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco, which are generally based on RYO cigarettes containing 1g of tobacco, are lower than duties on factory-made (FM) cigarettes. This provides a price-incentive for smokers to switch to RYO, use of which is increasing across Europe. To effectively approximate duties on the two types of products requires accurate data on the weight of RYO cigarettes. We provide updated information on RYO use and RYO cigarette weight across Europe. Methods. From a representative face-to-face survey conducted in 2010 in 18 European countries (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, England, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden), we considered data from 5158 current smokers aged ≥15 years, with available information on daily consumption of, separately, FM and RYO cigarettes. Results. In Europe, 10.4% of current smokers (12.9% of men and 7.5% of women) were "predominant" RYO users (i.e., >50% of cigarettes smoked). This proportion was highest in England (27.3%), France (16.5%) and Finland (13.6%). The median weight of one RYO cigarette is 0.75g (based on 192 smokers consuming exclusively RYO cigarettes). Conclusion. The proportion of RYO smokers is substantial in several European countries. Our finding on the weight of RYO cigarettes is consistent with the scientific literature and industry documents showing that the weight of RYO cigarettes substantially lower than that of FM ones. Basing excise duties on RYO on an average cigarette weight of 0.75g rather than 1g would help increase excise levels to those on FM cigarettes.
2014
Gallus, Silvano; Lugo, Alessandra; Ghislandi, Simone; La Vecchia, Carlo; Gilmore, Anna B.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
accettazione_EJCP.pdf

non disponibili

Tipologia: Altro materiale allegato
Licenza: NON PUBBLICO - Accesso privato/ristretto
Dimensione 33.89 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
33.89 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11565/3862110
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 39
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 39
social impact