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Tobacco tax proposal deserves support

Here is an opinion piece I wrote for ABC News online.

Emerging markets & free trade in carcinogens

I posted earlier this year on the strong growth in cigarette carcinogen sales despite the financial crisis.  The world’s largest carcinogen producer, Altria, had earnings per share growth of 10% in 2008 and was increasingly moving into the ethyl alcohol market.  Altria also split into two businesses in March 2008 [...]

Smoking economics in the WSJ

This Op-Ed writer in The WSJ – Brad Schiller – asserts that Obama’s ’trebling’ of excises on cigarettes from 39 cents to $1-01 (it is not a ‘trebling’!) will reduce the tax revenues accruing to US states collecting the tax given an elasticity of demand for cigarettes of -0.8.  That is a true statement – state tax [...]

Minimum booze prices

I commented a while back on a NCETA initiative to set minimum prices for booze.  The proposal to even study the policy got dropped but it seems to be gaining support again.  In the UK Prime Minister Brown has recently rejected advice from his main health advisor to impose minimum prices on the grounds that the policy would impact on moderate, low income [...]