Briefing Paper

Niger Profile on Tobacco Taxation: Adopt a more Effective Taxation and better Inform Tobacco Products Prevalence

Smoking is a pandemic that will cause 10 million deaths in 2030 of which 70% in developing countries if nothing is done. To curb this trend, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was set up in 2005 with a set of monitoring indicators to assess the progress made by each country. These indicators focus on the monitoring of consumption, the protection of individuals, the prevention of harmful effects, the ban on advertising and a considerable increase in prices through higher taxation. The 15 ECOWAS countries have all ratified this Framework Convention. However, the adoption of laws and measures to make it operational in each member country is timid. One of the reasons for this situation is that the public authorities are generally confronted with a lack of information on the different aspects of tobacco that can inform their decision-making. It was in order to fill this need for evidence that CRES had developed a country profile on smoking in each of the 15 ECOWAS countries for the period 2007 to 2011. It provides reliable information on the market for tobacco products, the tax system applied to them, their importance in the economy and smuggling. CRES updated these country profiles for the period 2011-2016 in seven (7) of the 15 ECOWAS countries. The purpose of this policy note is to share the main stylized facts obtained in the country profile of Niger between 2012 and 2016.