Cigarette Tax Scorecard (4th Edition): Spotlight on the European Union

This Policy Brief was written based on the findings of the fourth edition Cigarette Tax Scorecard. The policy brief evaluates the cigarette tax policies in the European Union. In 2024, the average score in the region was 2.88 points out of 5, which is higher than all other regions, but still only slightly above half of the total possible points with significant room for improvement. The overall score is an average of the following components: the cigarette price, changes in affordability, the tax share of the price, and the excise tax structure used. The European Union performed best on tax share, with an average score of 4.06 points, although there is still room for improvement in many countries. The EU performed most poorly in reducing the affordability of cigarettes over time, earning an average score in that component of just 0.37 points out of 5. The prices of cigarettes in most countries have not even been keeping up with inflation or income growth. Cigarette tax policies are driven by the EU Tobacco Tax Directive, but they still varied substantially throughout the region. The top performer was Finland, with a score of 4 points followed by Belgium, which scored 3.9 points, while Luxembourg had the lowest score of 2.13. This brief provides further recommendations for policy makers to address these challenges by strengthening the Tobacco Tax Directive, currently under revision, thus improving public health while raising tax revenues.

Read the entire 4th edition of the Cigarette Tax Scorecard here.