Little support for tax increases

The results of a national poll released yesterday indicate that there is no desire among the British public for further increases in tobacco duty.

A Populus survey of 2,016 people aged 18 or above that was carried out last week found that 38 percent of people in Britain think that tobacco duty is too high, 31 percent think it is about right and 24 percent think it is too low.

The Chancellor, George Osborne, is due to deliver his budget tomorrow.

Conducted on behalf of smokers’ group Forest, the poll found also that 66 percent of people want a review of the way smoking cessation services are funded.

And Forest said a demand by tobacco control groups for higher taxation to fund smoking cessation services was ‘economic madness’ because research had shown that the numbers using stop smoking services in England had ‘plummeted’ by 51 percent since 2010/11.

In other poll findings:

• Eighteen percent of the British public believe that tackling smoking is a priority for the National Health Service (NHS). Smoking came second bottom out of a list of ten priorities.
• Asked to rate priorities for the NHS, respondents said investing in new doctors and nurses was the highest priority. Other issues that were rated as more important than tackling smoking included investing in new hospitals and infrastructure, addressing care for the elderly, addressing response times at accident and emergency departments, and addressing mental health services.
• Fourteen percent of the public believe that tackling smoking is a priority for local government. The issue came second bottom in a list of ten priorities for local government.
• Asked to rate priorities for local government, respondents rated tackling crime and anti-social behaviour as the highest priority. Other issues that were rated as more important than tackling smoking included investing in road and pavements, improving job prospects, investing in street cleanliness, and improving facilities for young people.
• Sixty-one percent of the public believe it is very important that the government commissions an independent review of the impact of forthcoming tobacco control measures, including the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive and standardized packaging, before proceeding with further measures to control the sale and consumption of tobacco.

“In the last parliament tobacco duty increased by 40 percent and the total tax on the cheapest cigarettes in the UK is now a staggering 88 percent, said Simon Clark, director of Forest.

“Smokers have had enough and the general public is behind them. Only 24 percent of adults think tobacco duty is too low. Around a third believe it’s about right and 38 per cent think it’s too high.

“Increasing taxation to fund smoking cessation services would be economic madness.

“With e-cigarettes replacing more traditional and less successful quit smoking aids, why pour even more money into services a declining number of people are using?”

Forest has repeatedly urged the government to assess the impact of tobacco control measures on all stakeholders, including consumers, and most people want such an assessment to take place.

“It is significant that Populus also found that 61 per cent of the public think it is very important that the Government commissions an independent review of the impact of forthcoming tobacco control measures before proceeding with further measures to control the sale and consumption of tobacco,” said Clark.