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ASH Daily News

24 December 2003


HEADLINES

The benefits of giving up nasty financial habits
OFT tobacco inquiry
We'll Learn To Beat The Mafia

FULL TEXT

The benefits of giving up nasty financial habits


AS THE next few days of overindulgence start to take their toll, thoughts will inevitably turn towards new year resolutions. Whether it be the raging hangover, the smoker's cough or the unpleasant sensation of finding your jeans not quite so comfortable as they were a few weeks ago, the physical fallout from Christmas gets to most of us in the end.

There are strong financial reasons to crack down on vice too. The pack-a-day smoker can save £1,752 a year by giving up, while cutting back on your alcohol consumption by one pint of beer per day could save you about £1,000 a year.


But research from Lloyds TSB shows that most of us are not prepared to give up our nasty habits purely in order to save money. Its Savings in Britain survey found that just one in ten smokers would be prepared to quit in order to boost their savings, while just 5 per cent of drinkers would be willing to cut back.

The Times, 24/12/03



OFT tobacco inquiry

The financial journal 'Shares' reports on the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) inquiry into the UK tobacco companies. Citing the views of Morgan Stanley analysts, the article notes that the investigation "is likely to revolve around Chapter 1 of the 1998 Competition Act which forces companies to refrain from any behaviour that would unfairly distort prices for consumers". Tobacco companies generally place cigarettes in low, medium or high price bands. This price segmentation is not illegal, analysts say, and the 20% price gap between low and premium-priced cigarettes is in keeping with other countries such as Germany, where the same gap is around 21%, Italy (27%) and the US (30%). However, the point at which the UK differs from other countries is on margins for premium priced cigarettes. In the UK these are considerably higher than similar brands in other EU markets. For instance, a manufacturer makes 34p on a packet of Marlboro in Spain, compared with 69p for the same packet in the UK. The same doses not apply to low-price cigarettes where the same margin is 23p in Spain and 25p in the UK.

Shares, 24/12/03


We'll Learn To Beat The Mafia

Two Scots policemen are to teach officers in Latvia how to break up organised crime. Senior training officers from the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan in Fife will spend a year in the former Soviet state. Latvia has been targeted by crooks who make illegal fortunes through rackets ranging from smuggled cigarettes to human trafficking. Financial crime is also rife. But years of under-funding in the aftermath of the downfall of the Soviet Union means officers are not trained to tackle the local mafia barons.

Daily Record, 24/12/03



Please note that this is the last issue of the ASH Daily News for this year. ASH would like to wish all Daily News readers a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. We will be back on 5th January.





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Amanda Sandford
Research Manager
ASH
102 Clifton Street
LONDON
EC2A 4HW
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amanda.sandford@ash.org.uk