Should We Follow Australia To Stub Out Smoking?

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38733502
We must be down to the hard core now, so let's hike the price right up.

[mikey4444]

Yes !

[waterboatman]

YES!

[Baldric]

No problem with that at all.

[Bazile]

There will always be people who will find money to keep a woodbine in the corner of their mouth .

You don't see empty bookies in a recession do you ?

[Old_Geezer]

On a number of occasions in the past I'm mentioned to friends that I didn't think price would be a factor while you could buy a fag for less than the price of a pint. It seems like Australia is going that way then. But it might be unfair on the old folk who are hooked. Maybe they can get fag prescriptions from their GP to help tide them over.

[mikey4444]

The difficulty with the way its taxed in Britain, is that every tax rise is an approximate "cost-of-living rise" and most people just find those few extra coppers every time.

If we were to make a big tax rise, instead of all those smaller ones, say an extra £2-£3 a packet,in one fell swoop, it would work.

But our Chancellors have depended for far too long on all that lovely loot that tobacco taxes bring in.

[ToraToraTora]

mikey surprised at you, you know the tax it brings in goes no where near the true cost.

[Deskdiary]

TTT - "mikey surprised at you, you know the tax it brings in goes no where near the true cost."

Are you quite sure about that?

http://content.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB17526/stat-smok-eng-2015-rep.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/539194/Jun16_Receipts_NS_Bulletin_Final.pdf

Tax from tobacco almost £10bn.

Cost to NHS in 2006 for smoking related illnesses £2.7bn. Adjusted for inflation just over £3.5bn.

[youngmafbog]

There are other costs of smoking, it's not just the NHS.

Although I like the idea, not sure this will work. An import ban would have to be bought in and Tourists also would have to be stopped. This would hit the Country potentially in a big way.