When the tax stamp covers the health warning label: conflicting ‘best practices’ for tobacco control policy

The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (The Protocol) was born out of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to address the growing threat that untaxed and smuggled tobacco products have on public health. The Protocol seeks to reduce the manufacture, selling and transporting of tobacco without payment of applicable duties, taxes and/or bearing applicable tax stamps. Many countries require tax stamps (or banderoles) as a means of reducing tax non-compliance and controlling illicit production. Tobacco manufacturers or distributors pay the cost of tax stamps to the relevant authorities in their jurisdiction. Costs for tax stamps are generally shifted from the manufacturers to the consumer, with the potential healthpromoting impact of increasing retail prices of cigarettes. Policies requiring health warning labels (HWLs) on tobacco products are another powerful and cost-effective way to reduce the harm of tobacco. HWLs raise