Frank Chaloupka Interview
September 04, 2018
*Frank Chaloupka is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the director of the Institute for Health Research and Policy's (IHRP) Health Policy Center. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research's Health Economics Program and Program on Children.
Why did you decide to specialize in tobacco taxation?
My work for the past 3 decades has focused on the economics of health behaviors, including tobacco use, excessive drinking, diet, and more. My research and research by others has clearly demonstrated the importance of price as a determinant of these behaviors. Tax is the most direct policy for governments to influence price, so much of my research has focused on how tax increases affect tobacco use, as well as on addressing the misleading arguments industries make about the economic effects of tax increases. The enormous health and economic consequences of tobacco use led me to spend much of my time specializing in tobacco taxation.
Despite evidence of tobacco tax effectiveness to improve public health and revenue collection, why do you think many governments in the region have not yet adopted a tobacco tax policy in line with Framework Convention on Tobacco Control recommendations?
The biggest reason governments are deterred from implementing an effective tobacco tax policy is their concern about the unintended economic consequences of tax increases, largely driven by the arguments that they hear from the tobacco industry and its allies. Specifically, opponents of tobacco tax increases argue that these increases will lead to increased tax avoidance and evasion, job losses, and harm the poor, and that they will not have their intended revenue and public health effects.
"The biggest reason governments are deterred from implementing an effective tobacco tax policy is their concern about the unintended economic consequences of tax increases, largely driven by the arguments that they hear from the tobacco industry and its allies."
Do you think policymakers and those responsible for adopting fiscal policies in the LAC region are familiar with the idea that tobacco taxes are an important health policy?
Yes, I think tobacco tax policy makers in the region are generally familiar with the idea that tobacco tax increases have a positive impact on health. That said, tax policy makers are generally more concerned with effects of tax increases on revenues and rely on their counterparts in Ministries of Health to make the health arguments.
Do you think we should promote a vision of tobacco taxation as a health policy and not just a revenue collection policy?
Yes, a comprehensive understanding of the health and revenue impact of tobacco tax increases is needed to get policy makers to implement significant reforms to tobacco tax systems and adopt the large increases in tobacco taxes that would both improve health and raise revenues.
How Civil Society Organizations in the LAC region could collaborate to this aim?
Civil Society Organizations in the region can help in these efforts by communicating the evidence to policy makers, particularly the evidence to counter the tobacco industry's oppositional arguments. In addition, they can help identify the research gaps and priorities for research that is needed to support tobacco tax reforms and tax increases.
What is the University of Illinois at Chicago doing to give greater visibility about this?
We have developed a research program called Tobacconomics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The primary aims of this program are to conduct research on the economics of tobacco and tobacco control, including work on tobacco taxation, and to disseminate the findings from this research widely.
Could you explain what the initiative you are carrying out for Latin America is about?
In Latin America and in other countries and regions around the world, we are working with economic and fiscal policy think tanks and/or research institutes to develop local evidence on the economics of tobacco taxation. In these efforts, we are trying to bring in new researchers with relevant economics expertise but who have not worked on tobacco in the past. In addition, we are supporting the dissemination of research findings to Ministries of Finance and other tax policy makers, while at the same time sharing our findings with the tobacco control community.
What are the University of Illinois at Chicago main lines of research?
We have several ongoing lines of research in the region, from addressing industry arguments about the impact of tax increases on illicit tobacco trade, tobacco farmers, and the poor to documenting the impact of recent tax reforms/increases in key countries.