Should the govt stop increasing tobacco prices?

[TheQuirkyMaker]

A cheap packet of 20 cigs now costs about £15. They last a day. Most smokers are in the lower economic demographics. Should we ask the govt to stop hammering us in each budget?

Or just give up smoking?

Of course not OP.

This. Fucks sake.

Or it should just be banned. Easier all round.

I’d make them £100

How about you stop smoking? You’re low income, so it’s an utter waste whether is £5 a day or £20 a day.

As to your question, no. We shouldn’t reduce tax on tobacco. We tax sugar, we have minimum alcohol pricing, tobacco needs to be hammered as well.

I don't know how we are going to manage without the tax if no-one smokes tbh. For those saying ban it, how do you impose that without it costing a fortune? Every tourist would have to be searched. MN hates smoking, but worship French women who use cigarettes for weight loss, so you'll get nonsensical answers.

Of course not

They need to tax things more which cause health issues, so alcohol & tobacco are always going to be hit

Tax acts as a disincentive to encourage you to give up.

It's also a great source of income as it taxes your addiction so the rest of society gains.

Then again, you probably know that, which is why your wrote a baiting post

Keep taxing tobacco out of existence. And do the same for vapes.

Smoking is a choice. Yea you are addicted but it’s possible to give up.

I've always wondered where the huge tax loss would come from if everyone suddenly stopped smoking?

It would no doubt be dumped somewhere else which could effect more people so really we should be grateful for smokers 😂 😉

The amount of tax is crazy but it'll continue to rise and rise as it always has

No, obviously not. Smokers are a drain on the health system as it is.

If you need the money, quit.

Surely you could have anticipated the responses you were going to get here? Smoking is wildly unpopular with everyone aside from a small number of committed smokers.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates that for 2025-26, tobacco duties (i.e., excise on cigarettes, hand‐rolling tobacco, etc.) will raise £8.1 billion.

(ChatGpt)

I think it's right to encourage people to quit completely and I wish they'd hike alcohol taxes massively as well.

The money raised by tax on tobacco is a fraction of the costs linked to smoking on the NHS, social care, workplace and society as a whole. The sooner it’s banned the better (& I say this as a 20 a day smoker for many many years who has finally managed to quit but felt the same when I was smoking - each time I quit and was tempted to start again, if they weren’t available to buy in my local shop I simply would have dealt with the nagging of a dwindling habit until it stopped. And it does stop eventually)

No, it should be doubled

It doesn’t impact me because I don’t smoke, but in general I am against taxation for the manipulation of behaviour. I don’t mind taxation for related public services though. There’s a strong case for saying that if you want state-funded public healthcare, then activities that increase the need for healthcare, such as smoking, should be subject to tax. What level is a political issue and I’m afraid I don’t see reducing tax on cigarettes as a vote winner, so you are likely on a losing wicket.

The problem with raising the tax on them is people will just buy them abroad and not pay any UK tax. One of my friends smokes a lot and she asks anyone she knows who is going abroad to bring her back tobacco and she gives them the money. They bring back the allowance they are entitled to and because she has a big family and knows a lot of people she saves a fortune. She's only done this in the past couple of years when the tax got silly. So, I think raising it too high means the government are losing tax money on it.

One 50g pouch of tobacco is £40 plus here compared to around £12.50 in europe

In an attempt to be helpful…..I smoked for 18 years, 15/20 a day without fail. Quit 5 years ago by using “Alan Carr’s Easy way to quit smoking” book. Not THE Alan Carr, same name, different man). You can listen to it on audible or read it. I’d recommend listening to it. It’s amazing. Not had a single puff since and at last checking my “smoke Free” app I’ve saved over £25k since stopping. I was a confirmed smoker and I now don’t miss it at all. Its so nice be free

I’m sorry but can’t agree with this. At all. Stop smoking is surely the answer…
if not form a financial perspective then from a health perspective

But hopefully the price will discourage people from starting in the first place, you wouldn’t be asking auntie Edith to bring a load back from torremolenos for your first ever try.

It’s good how much our smoking culture has changed over the last 20 years. In our area I very rarely smell any smoke these days. We went to Croatia this summer and it was mind blowing that people were still smoking everywhere, even in supermarkets next to the veg aisle.

Meh. It's optional to smoke. If you want you spend £15 a day on that, then that's your business. No one is forcing you so dont moan about it.

They should massively hike tax on alcohol - alcohol related disease, illness and injury is a huge drain on the NHS, more so than smoking nowadays.

The number of people smoking in my area seems to have gone up.

I no longer smell awful vapes everywhere, I now smell manky cigarettes. Both are vile.