Cigarette Tax Scorecard: The Caribbean

This regional Policy Brief was written based on the findings of the Cigarette Tax Scorecard. The policy brief evaluates and compares the cigarette tax policies in 13 Caribbean countries. The average overall score in these countries was only 1.82 points out of 5, with Suriname scoring the highest (3.40), and Antigua and Barbuda scoring the lowest (0.50). The overall score is an average of the following components: the cigarette price, changes in affordability, the tax share of the price, and the tax structure used. The Caribbean countries scored highest in the tax structure component (3.30 points out of 5), although this is still relatively low. The most significant challenge in the area is the low tax share of the price of cigarettes, as the countries scored only 0.50 points in that component of the score. The policy brief further makes recommendations for governments to improve public health while raising tax revenues. 

View the entire Cigarette Tax Scorecard here. 

Access the entire Data set with all of the country scores here.