Czech Presidency calls for further discussion on excise duty for tobacco

The proposal under discussion would raise the minimum excise rates to €90 per 1,000 cigarettes, compared to €64 as it stands today. It would also increase the minimum excise rates on fine-cut tobacco.

Tobacco control and taxation policy is a key example of how other policy areas can contribute to improving the health status of citizens. According to the World Bank, high prices resulting from high taxes on tobacco is the single most effective intervention to prevent smoking. Furthermore, increasing the price of tobacco helps people to quit; studies have shown that a price increase of 10% results in a 2.5%-5% reduction in smoking.

The Czech Presidency should address this issue with some urgency given that a new survey from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has shown that Czech young people are among those that smoke the highest number of cigarettes in the world. Nearly a quarter of 15-year-old Czech girls smoke regularly, second only to Austria, and rates are similarly high amongst boys (20%). Public health representatives from the Czech Republic suggest that Czech society does not consider smoking amongst young people a serious problem. It is interesting to note that the Czech Republic is the only EU member state not to have ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

If the Czech Republic fails to push this through under its Presidency, one would hope that the Swedish Presidency will obtain an agreement that will ultimately benefit public health.

For more information

Czech Presidency

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

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Protecting children and young people from tobacco