Strengthening sin tax policies for public health benefit

: from policy formulation to policy evaluation

Abstract

Sin tax, or health taxes, are taxes imposed on products such as tobacco, alcohol and high sugar-content beverages to protect population health from harmful consumption of these goods. Through five empirical studies, this thesis helps widening the evidence base for improving the design and implementation of sin tax policies across the “life course” as framed in the Policy Cycle.

For the beginning phase of policy cycle, a case study of sugar tax in Vietnam highlighted the crucial need to obtain an in-depth understanding of tax administration for health researchers, alongside with leverage inclusive key stakeholder and academic collaborations to produce practical and feasible tax recommendations as ready-to-use reference markers for policymakers.

The subsequent phases of the policy cycle using lessons learnt from UK focused on the long-term monitoring and evaluation of sin tax policies given two major outcomes: the prevalence of, and inequalities in the consumption of tobacco and alcohol. The matter of inequalities is chosen for the centre piece, offering new insights on this aspect where debates are still going on. The prevalence indicator represents the direct evaluation of policy impact where conflicting experience about smoking and drinking over a 30-year timeframe is evident.

The last phase of policy cycle discussed the extension of sin tax policies in conjunction with other fiscal and non-fiscal interventions including evidence related to minimum unit pricing policy on alcohol in Scotland and the potential to replicate this innovative tool for tobacco tax and sugar tax.

Over time, the use of sin taxes for public health benefits has extended beyond the concept of collecting taxes on some specific goods but to promote healthier lifestyle. As the application of sin taxes for public health is continuing to evolve further, this thesis hopefully makes a useful contribution to the understanding and refining the sin tax policies.

Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2027.

Date of Award	Jul 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Sponsors	Northern Ireland Department for the Economy
Supervisor	Ciaran O'Neill (Supervisor) & Michael Donnelly (Supervisor)