IMF Publishes Call for Risk-Proportionate Nicotine Taxation
March 25, 2026 by filtermag.org
IMF Publishes Call for Risk-Proportionate Nicotine Taxation
The IMF emphasizes risk-proportionate taxation on nicotine, alcohol, and sugar products to align with harm caused, challenging current tax policies. Economist Christoph B. Rosenberg and tax expert Marius Van Oordt discuss the need to adapt taxes based on harm levels of new products like vapes, emphasizing the importance of combining tax and health data for policymaking. The article points out the success of different tax strategies in countries like New Zealand and the negative impact of misaligned taxes in places like India and Ireland. The IMF's support for harm reduction advocates is seen as influential in shaping healthier societies.
8.60% of the adult population are current smokers. There are approximately 364,000 current smokers in New Zealand.
SOURCE: GSTHR
