Explore the economic burden of tobacco use and discover how efficient and effective taxation can improve public health by reducing tobacco consumption, boost fiscal revenues, and support sustainable development, by joining this online Tobacco Taxation 101 course. 

The 5-week course is convened by REEP in collaboration with Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), and co-sponsored by Cancer Research UK.

Interested parties are encouraged to complete the application form before the deadline: Friday 17th January 2025. 

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For more information about the course, the application process, costs, and details of the scholarships available, please:

TT101 brochure cover 2025

Tobacco Taxation 101 2024

Following the inaugural session in May 2024, REEP has conducted a comprehensive review to further enhance the learning experience.

Course Success and Participant Feedback

32 participants from 29 countries have completed the course and will be receiving their certificates in the coming days. The participants came from government departments, civil society, and academia. The mean grade of the participants who completed the course was 79%. The course received positive feedback, particularly regarding the clarity and accessibility of complex concepts.

Enhancements for the Upcoming Session

Based on participant feedback, REEP plans to implement several key improvements:

  1. Enhanced Interaction: Increased opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and general discussions, mainly through an online chatroom.
  2. Capstone Project: participants will be expected to submit a project that synthesizes concepts learned throughout the five-week course.
  3. Refined Assessments: Revision of quiz questions to improve clarity while maintaining academic rigor.

View the 2024 Brochure or click here for more info.

Background

In early 2023 we decided to develop an online course in tobacco taxation, called Tobacco Taxation 101. With the help of Learning Sandbox, an organisation that specialises in online learning, we developed a five-week course, with four modules. It took about nine months to develop the course. These modules were:

  1. Tobacco taxation in context
  2. Economics: the essentials
  3. Structuring and modelling excise taxes
  4. Illicit trade and other roadblocks

The Tobacco Taxation 101 course was launched in May 2024. Forty-nine delegates registered for the course; 37 started the course and 32 completed it and received certificates of completion.

The modules consist of a variety of ‘assets’, including videos, text-only documents, ‘scrollables’, summary posters, and animations. Each week students are required to work through the content of a particular module and fill out a quiz. Each Friday afternoon, we have a 90-minute Zoom session, where a REEP member or an outside expert makes a presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session.

We intend to run the Tobacco Taxation 101 course once or twice a year, depending on the demand. We are currently implementing some updates to the course, based on feedback from students that have completed the Tobacco Taxation 101 course and independent feedback from two UCT students. The next round of the course will be run in February and March 2025. We will thoroughly review the course after the second or third round and make appropriate changes.