A webinar event organized by the Ateneo School of Government (ASOG) and Internal Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada.
The COVID-19 crisis has brought the world to its knees. Many countries have implemented drastic and unprecedent policies to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Almost all countries have implemented strict border control and stay home orders; some have decided to ban the sales of sin products, including tobacco, cigarettes, and alcohol. These actions are expected to have enormous societal and economic effects, including the fight against illicit tobacco trade.
Critical policy questions remain: did the decision to ban cigarette sales increase or decrease illegal sales of tobacco and cigarette products? Did strict border control reduce the flow of illicit tobacco trade across countries, which eventually affected the use of tobacco products? Did it improve enforcement measures to tackle criminals dealing with illicit goods on the borders? What are the best practices in addressing illicit tobacco trade employed by governments at the time of this unprecedent crisis? These are some of many questions that require more policy dialogue for decision-makers to share their experiences and draw important lessons.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted to one of the deepest economic contractions in recent history. Both developed and developing countries experienced falling public revenues and rising public debt, which will have severe implications on their fiscal position including the financing of key social protection program such as universal health coverage (UHC). Again, this poses a critical question: how can tobacco control measures including illicit tobacco and tobacco taxation be instrumental in mobilizing more resources for health?
In this webinar, the nexus of the illicit tobacco trade and the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed. The webinar will also feature the experiences of countries in combatting illicit tobacco in the midst of the pandemic.