THE NEW TOBACCO PRODUCTS DIRECTIVE – POTENTIAL ECONOMIC IMPACT2013
In late December 2012, the European Commission adopted its proposal for a new Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) – a proposal that has the potential to significantly impact the tobacco sector and the EU economy.
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants has been commissioned by Philip Morris International (PMI) to assess the potential economic impact of the new TPD. In our study, we analyze the impact of the new TPD on the entire tobacco sector and EU Member States' economies in terms of two key parameters: Employment and tax revenue
In doing so, we focus on the impact of the new packaging and labeling requirements leading to high levels of standardization, the ban on slim cigarettes, and the ban on menthol cigarettes resulting from restrictions on additives. We view these three measures as likely to have the most significant, quantifiable impact. There are potential additional effects on employment and tax revenue which have not been quantified as part of this study.
Our study attempts to be consistent with standard practice in economic modeling. We adopt a comprehensive, quantitative economic model that allows us to simulate future developments in the tobacco sector.
Table of Contents
Foreword 2
Executive summary 3
1. The EU tobacco sector is a major driver of jobs and tax revenue 4
1.1 Cigarettes and fine-cut are the leading tobacco products 4
1.2 The tobacco sector provides more than 600,000 jobs 5
1.3 At more than EUR 100 bn a year, taxes from cigarettes and fine-cut are a significant source of revenue for Member States 7
1.4 A sizeable and steadily growing illicit market equates to 10% of legal cigarette sales in the EU 8
2. Future EU tobacco regulation under the new TPD 9
3. Our approach to analyzing the impact of the new TPD 11
3.1 The economic rationale behind our modeling approach 11
3.2 Description of the quantitative model underlying our analysis 13
3.3 Assessing employment and tax revenue effects through
scenario-based forecasting 15
3.4 The data behind our quantitative model 17
4. How the new TPD will impact the economy 18
4.1 The new TPD will have a major impact on the EU tobacco sector 18
4.2 Significant losses in jobs and tax revenues are expected 21
5. Limitations of the quantitative analysis 25
6. Additional potential effects of the new TPD 27
7. Towards a "more economic approach" in tobacco regulation 29
8. Conclusion 31
Appendix 1 – Input data for the quantitative model 32
Appendix 2 – Concise model description and calibration strategy 34