Comparison of Indonesian Cigarette Tax Shares with Other Asian Countries

The latest World Health Organization (WHO) report compiles the cigarette tax portion of the most sold brands in each country in the WHO administrative region of South-East Asia by 2024.

The Southeast Asia region in the WHO administrative area includes not only Southeast Asian countries or ASEAN, but also several South Asian and East Asian countries.

Indonesia is the country with the highest percentage in this group, with 78.9% of the retail price of the most sold cigarette brands being taxed. This is a significant step because the prevalence of daily adult smokers in Indonesia is high, at 26% by 2023.

Thailand follows with 78.6% in 2024. This is a more progressive move given its lower daily adult smoking prevalence of 14% in 2023.

Bangladesh is third, with taxes accounting for 73.1% of the retail price. Adult smoking prevalence there is 16%.

Outside the top three, the percentage of tax on the retail price of the best-selling cigarette brand is less than 70%. These countries include Sri Lanka (68.4%) and the Maldives (65%).

Bhutan (23.6%) and Nepal (31.9%) have the lowest tax percentages in this group. Note that WHO did not obtain data from South Korea in this region.

The following countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region show the percentage of total tax in the retail price of the best-selling cigarette brand in 2024:

• Indonesia: 78.9%
• Thailand: 78.6%
• Bangladesh: 73.1%
• Timor-Leste: 70.1%
• Sri Lanka: 68.4%
• Maldives: 65%
• India: 58.2%
• Myanmar: 34.1%
• Nepal: 31.9%
• Bhutan: 23.6%
• South Korea: -

Cigarette taxes are a key component of WHO's MPOWER strategy, which includes Monitoring (M), Protection (P), Offer (O), Warn (W), Enforce (E), and Raise taxes (R).

WHO notes that only 40 countries have comprehensive policies on cigarette taxation, while the remaining countries have moderate, minimal, or no data on such policies.

(Read: Global Tobacco Control Policy Landscape in 2024)