WHO has joined forces with VISA NGO and the University of Cape Town to assess the impact of increasing health taxes in Mauritius. Using a simulation tool, the study examined how tax hikes affect tobacco use, government revenues, and premature deaths.
📊 A 15% annual cigarette tax increase could:
Boost excise revenue by 55%
Reduce smoking prevalence from 18.1% to 17.4%
Prevent 11,600 premature deaths by 2029
Even more ambitious action—a 25% annual increase—could:
Double excise revenues
Lower smoking prevalence to 16.3%
Save 19,300 lives by 2029
On 20 June 2025, WHO convened high-level officials from the Ministries of Health and Finance to discuss the findings, presented by the University of Cape Town’s Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products and a WHO taxation expert.
