ASH news release:  For immediate release:  3 April 2003

Budget 2003: Chancellor should raise tobacco tax and use revenue to help smokers quit

In advance of the 2003 Budget, ASH is calling on the Government to continue its policy of raising tobacco taxes above the rate of inflation and to reject tobacco industry demands for cuts in tobacco tax to tackle smuggling.  Raising taxes is one of the most effective ways of reducing smoking whilst the industry approach would increase consumption and would have little impact on reducing smuggling.    ASH calls on the Government to:

• Raise tobacco tax by  at least 15p per pack of 20 cigarettes to avoid smoking becoming more affordable as incomes rise.
• Raise tax on hand-rolling tobacco to dissuade smokers from switching from manufactured cigarettes to roll-your-own. This should be more practical now that bootlegging has been reduced. 
• Dedicate 2 pence in the pound from tobacco revenue to fund campaigns to help people stop smoking.  
• Impose UK duties on tobacco imported into the UK over a notional maximum allowance. This would protect Britain's sovereignty over excise taxation and remove the ambiguity about the intended purpose of cigarettes imported through the Channel ports.

ASH's Research Manager, Amanda Sandford commented:  “The government has made good progress in tackling the tobacco epidemic but needs to prove its continued commitment by raising tobacco taxes to further reduce smoking rates.  To offset the burden that this places on poorer people, the Chancellor should use the revenue raised to pay for services to help smokers to quit.” 

ASH welcomes the success of the Government's anti-smuggling programme in tackling cross-Channel bootlegging.  However, tobacco smuggling is dominated by freight smuggling and we remain concerned that insufficient action has been taken to tackle this more serious problem.  ASH is calling for measures to reduce the incentives for manufacturers and wholesalers to smuggle and for tighter controls on the distribution chain.

END

Notes and links:

The 2003 Budget submission from ASH and other health organisations can be viewed at: http://www.ash.org.uk/html/smuggling/html/tax2003.html

Contact: Amanda Sandford 020 7739 5902    ISDN available