Tobacco duty increase hits law-abiding consumers who use British shops
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 13:47 Forest's response to the increase in tobacco duty announced today by the Chancellor:
INCREASE IN TOBACCO DUTY PENALISES LAW-ABIDING CONSUMERS, SAYS FOREST
The smokers' lobby group Forest has criticised the Chancellor’s decision to increase tobacco duty by two per cent above inflation, arguing that it penalises "law-abiding consumers".
Director Simon Clark said: "Law-abiding consumers who buy their tobacco in British shops are being penalised unfairly.
"The policy also discriminates against those who can least afford it, especially the elderly and the low paid.
"Increasing tobacco duty could cost the government billions of pounds. The people who will benefit most are black marketeers and those who purchase their tobacco abroad."
He added: "The Chancellor said the government's policy on tobacco will reduce smoking. It's not the government's role to force people to stop consuming a legal product. That's social engineering, which we deplore."
Update: Expect an increase of 33-50p on a pack of 20 cigarettes, and around 67p on a 25g pack of hand rolling tobacco.
Simon Clark
What the Chancellor announced today:
- Tobacco duty rates – as announced in the March Budget 2010, tobacco duty rates will increase by 2 per cent above the RPI. Duty on hand rolling tobacco will increase by an additional 10 per cent. These changes will come into effect from 6pm on 23 March 2011. (Finance Bill 2011)
- Changes to the tobacco duty regime – the Government is also restructuring cigarette duty to support health objectives. As a result, ad valorem duty on cigarettes will decrease to 16.5 per cent, and specific duty will increase by 25 per cent above the RPI. This will target the duty increase on cheaper cigarettes, adding 50 pence to a packet of economy cigarettes and 33 pence to a packet of premium cigarettes. These changes will come into effect from 6pm on 23 March 2011. (Finance Bill 2011)
- Tobacco: tackling fraud – The Government is fully committed to tackling the illicit trade in tobacco to protect public finances and support health objectives. HMRC and the UK Border Agency will be introducing a renewed strategy to tackle this fraud from April 2011.
The Tobacco Manufacturers Association reports that "According to latest data available from HM Revenue & Customs, up to 22% of cigarettes and 61% of handrolling tobacco consumed in 2008/09 avoided UK duty. This equates to a revenue loss to the Treasury of £3.8 billion (£10.4 million per day)."
Simon Clark
Media coverage:
Forest: Budget penalises law-abiding smokers (Politics.co.uk)
Cheap cigarettes prompt duty change (Independent/PA)
Cost of cigarettes and alcohol to increase tonight (Daily Mail)
Tobacco duty rise 'a boon to black marketeers' (The Grocer)
Budget 2011: £7 pack of cigarettes (Daily Telegraph)
Booze and fags hit by George Osborne (Daily Mirror)
It's hurting and it's still not working (Daily Record)
Reader Comments (75)
Another fine mess. In my naievety I expected the Conservatives to protect liberty - instead of which they have simply carried on from the obsessive controls of the Brown-stuff: cigarettes in plain packaging, hidden under the counter, more tax, more nanny-messages. Oh yes, and they are continuing the expensive, time-wasting ads on tv 'health' advertising that probably nobody wanted in the first place. Add to that no Referendum on Europe, and those of us committed to freedom of thought and liberty in our land might be forgiven for giving up on politics altogether.
Such is democracy. I wonder if UKIP would do better.
While I,m not surprised that the duty has increased, I am shocked at the amount he has put on.
At almost £7 a packet of 20 it,s unrealistic to expect people to pay.
As someone who has smoked for almost 50 years, I cannot see any benefit from stopping from a health perspective as I firmly believe it would do more harm than good and am now coming to the conclusion that what they really want is to legally get rid of a lot of pensioners, finish them off and save money on the pension bill.
As for the youngsters, there seems to an increasing number of reports of police raiding pub toilets looking for evidence of substance use, a situation which i dont recall happening in local pubs before all this hysteria about Tobacco started.
We are frequently told what a dire strait this country is in. How much revenue has been lost from the closure of 7000 pubs . How much extra is now being paid out to the ex bar staff in benefits. What is the total cost of the money allocated to Ash, all the hundreds of stop smoking advisors and the extra HMG at airports and Ferry terminals. Seems like a big drain on the economy to me and at a time when they are talking about cutting police numbers, it seems that the message here is loosen up on the crooks and concentrate on making life truly miserable for so many law abiding citizens.
Beginning to feel like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
Having a real downer today.
Are the rich trying to kill off the poor? A 50p increase in a package of fags will not hurt the rich and will not stop them buying their five-a-day (fruit and veg). Whether smoking be an addiction or an enjoyable habit we all know that the majority of smokers will not quit, but will find to harder to afford their 5-a-day.
More smokers will be forced to smoke counterfeit cigarettes which are far more dangerous and will not only put a big strain on the NHS.
@Dave
Can't see such a trip being much of a problem in all honesty. Maybe l'm wrong but l get the impression you're backing off?
@Mick
I hope it can happen it is that I don't want to incur the wrath of Simon :)
Junican, the average smoked per day is around 14, which by you calc gives 10,000,000 smokers, which is, I think, the accepted figure. That's 5 packs a week, an increase of £2.50 a week. Each time there is a price rise, another slice of the smoking population decides to go unofficial with purchases. Perhaps we are not yet down to the 14 a day demographic, but we must be pretty close.
I like the idea of a tobacco cruise, if only to test, iunder the scrutiny of the media, what the UKBA accept is for personal use. This could then be used as a precedent and quoted by every returning shopper.
Want to see it, and hear it, like it used to be? Watch Billy Connoly here
Smoking-Drinking-Music-Moterbikes-Been doing all for over 45 years as long as i can remember it don't matter what Government we have they all the same ! Why is this ? Because they nead money as much as we do ? And they get it the easyest way they can through TAX. This has been going on as long as there have been people who control people don't matter where you from and it will always go on as long as we egsist. Personally i can't see that ever changing , But you know what scares them is when WE COMUNICATE ! KEEP TALKING ! You never know one of these days they might have to listen to us ! thanks to the " WEB" If they ever manage to stop that (which i know they can) It's up to the people of the world to stand together as one ! Like BOB said ONE PEOPLE-ONE LOVE-ONE WORLD ? If you don't aggree then you got the BLUE'S MAN ? I would carry on now but i need to here some music have a smoke an dream of ridding my moterbike (Cos i can't afford the petrol or the Insurance) Oh well just gona have a drink Cos I can't afford to go to the Pub an pay £3 for a drink ? KEEP COMUNICATING PEOPLE COS "THEY DON'T LIKE IT"
Hi Jon.
You are right about the figures. I got a bit mixed up between the 20% and 20 million. I see that your estimate of fags per day is just double mine, which it will be if your figure for smokers is correct.
I thought of going further, and trying to estimate how many smokers might smoke above/below average, but I have no data. (Perhaps as well I didn't!). I did have this data some time ago, but it was from a Yougov survey, and so I am not sure how reliable it might be. I have no doubt that the Gov have these figures and use them for their purposes. I might try to dig it out again.
Anyway, my point was that it is at the low level of smoking where the inelasticity of demand lies (or at the low level of income/physical ability to travel). In this context, by 'demand' I mean willingness to buy fags at full price in this country. It is the many millions who only smoke a few fags per day who will pay the extra tax which the exchequer envisages. However, you are right to suggest that a further slice of people will outsource their supplies.
I think that the fags cruise idea is great - but is it no true that Smoking Hot already organises such events? I think that Forest is more of a political organisation, and thus unlikely to wish to be involved in activities which might antagonise politicians.
@ Martin V
I have decided to try to grow my own. Without much expectation, I obtained tobacco seeds and sowed them in an ordinary propagator. Lo and behold!, I have about 100 germinated seeds. I do not know what to do with them all as yet since I can only accommodate about 20 plants in my garden.
If anyone is interested, I could try to grow them all, and create 'plugs', and send them to anyone who wants to give it a go. I would not want to make a profit - just costs - postages and stuff. At the moment, i regard the matter as fun and a good reason for actually gardening! We will see.
@Junican
“I think that Forest is more of a political organization, and thus unlikely to wish to be involved in activities which might antagonise politicians” What?!!
Let’s just recap shall we, and all this because we simply exist on the planet as people that enjoy tobacco products.
The last government reneged on its manifesto pledge not to bring in a blanket smoking ban, whereupon, we can’t smoke on aeroplanes, ships, trains, buses, trams, in taxis, pubs, bars, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs, private clubs, shops, waiting rooms, school playgrounds, hospital grounds, air-ports etc; (I’m sure you can add to the list), and remember they’re trying to invade our homes and private vehicles too – but you’re worried about antagonising politicians – right?
If this has happened to us and we haven’t antagonised any rotten politician, what the hell would happen if we did?
In fact, is there much more they can do to us?
If Forest were to organise (quite legally), trips abroad for cheap tobacco products, wouldn’t this say something to them – that perhaps they’ve got it badly wrong? Would not this give us a stick with which to beat them with at last?
Incidentally, you have talked before about growing your own tobacco, if anything would be designed to antagonise, it would be this. How long do you think it would take your Oh, so PC council to ban you from growing it, they would jump on that one in a minute, and it wouldn’t take your anti-smoking neighbour long to rat-snitch either.
Forest organising legitimate fun trips abroad to buy tobacco products would send a very clear message indeed! Imagine too the coach having its own livery design and logo, what a great advertisement!
Get designing! I’ve done two logos so far.
If anybody has contacts with anti ban MPs, how agout getting them to organise a tobacco run to Belgium. They could easily travel by Eurostar and be there and back in a few hours. That would make good publicity.
@ JJ & Junican ... l do indeed take people to purchase their tobacco/cigarettes abroad. As it has worked out, every trip has been people accompanying me because l was travelling anyway. l haven't charged anyone for my services ... period! Neither do l charge for helping people with their appeals or preparations for their own trips ... everything is free.
“I think that Forest is more of a political organization, and thus unlikely to wish to be involved in activities which might antagonise politicians”
What could be more political than a demonstration? For that is what such a trip would be. l don't have the contacts to make any impact on the media so it would be pointless me even trying.
FOREST demonstration would in my view be a one-off with as maximum coverage as possible hightlighting purchasing abroad, no money going to the Treasury and all 100% legal. Also highlighting it fights smuggling. lt would also show the complete folly of the current tobacco control policiy that is being orchestrated by the Gov (incl recent Budget) and such as ASH. Hopefully it would also show the UKBA 'at work' but recent experiences lead me to believe that they'd leave us alone and come nowhere near us.
When we got back to UK, l personally would donate the tobacco l brought back to someone like the British Legion or Age Concern so they could distribute the tobacco to the Forces veterans and Senior Citizens that smoke and will be hit hard by this budget. What could l be accused of? ... certainly not smuggling. Maybe ASH would accuse me of encouraging people to smoke but seeing as it would be going to Senior Citizens/War Veterans that have smoked all their lives and won't ever give up, l think even ASH wouldn't be that stupid. Imagine a headline showing a WW2 Veteran and the header 'ASH want to take away the freedom this man and his fallen comrades fought for' ... or something like that.
Now what could be more political than that?
That's the spirit, Smoking Hot !
But does anyone know - as a matter of interest - whether Age Concern or the British Legion's been nobbled by the Darksiders, too ?
I sincerely hope not - but their tentacles seem to be everywhere these days: it's like a Sci-Fi nightmare.
One bit of good news, though: there is apparently no foundation to the recent rumour that Commander Arnott has ordered 'selective' NATO air-strikes against British American Tobacco plants in continental Europe and Asia - to stop them 'attacking' innocent people with nicotine. It would seem that her authority in this regard is strictly limited to the UK.Some cause for cheer, perhaps ?
@ Martin V ... As SBC says on mine, Legion and Age Concern would prob shy away but can then approach the old guys/gals individually ... one on one. ASH would prob blow a fuse or implode.
@Martin V
Be careful Martin, ASH's tentacles spread far and wide. This might just come back and bite you hard in the nether regions.
I don't suggest you retract your statement - but be prepared to rush off at a moments notice to polish Arnott's jackboots.
JJ -
Despite your obvious concern for my feelings, I am nonetheless a chastened man.
Don't know what came over me. It was a moment of madness. And I deeply regret the pain and embarrassment caused to my family, friends and colleagues by my ill-considered remarks. And to my cat, too.
I can only pray that all concerned will accept my profoundest - and sincerest - apologies, whilst I retire to a religious retreat to re-consider my future.
Apart, that is, from the poisonous bitch my remarks were aimed at. She can rot in Hell !!
Gosh! Roundly told off!
I see your point, jj, about growing your own possibly being banned. I thought of that before I started. You may be right, but I feel that such a ban is still a long way off. It would be very odd for home growing to be banned when countries all over the world are growing tobacco plants in great profusion. Odd, is it not, that the cannabis plant is banned but the poppy is not. (A bit difficult to ban the poppy in view of the WW1 association)
Anyway, I can't really see such a ban in the foreseeable future, but I would not put it past ASH et al to propose it so that children cannot see them.
Wouldn’t dream of telling you off Junican - you're a thoughtful and decent human being.
All Quiet on the Western Front then? ... ah well.
Thank you, jj, for that.
@ Smoking Hot.
I cannot see any reason that the EU should not make tobacco an exception to the rule. That is, Tobacco Control have such a dominance that it could decree that normal EU regulations regarding trade can be disregarded. In which case, it may be possible for the UK to pass a law which restricts the import of cigarettes by a person to one sleeve (200 fags). It is possible, and I would not be in the least surprised if such a regulation were enacted. Of course, this enactment would take place a little at a time - possibly by making the 'recommended limit' of 32 sleeves a 'legal' limit, and then slowly reducing it.
But there is a big problem.
Generally in Europe, trains move, without border controls to speak of, from Country to Country. How can Tobacco Control fund the massive cost of controlling the movement of tobacco? They cannot - it is only because of the English Channel that it is possible to control the movement of tobacco into and out of this country, and for the authorities to use the word 'smuggling'. The UK and Ireland can use the word 'smuggling' only because of the fact that they are islands. In actual fact, there is no such thing as 'smuggling' in the EU.
Note how the Gov never refer to smuggling. Only TV programmes and ASH refer to smuggling.
It is clear that there is a massive, massive con trick going on - only in the UK and Ireland. Because it is a con trick, it must fall apart sooner or later. It is extremely sad that our (corrupt) politicians are unable to see what is happening. If you try to speak to them about it, they blank the idea.
I see no reason to vote at elections any more. Whoever is elected is not capable of making decisions. I see no point. Let them follow the instructions of the Health Dept - they will anyway because they can do nothing else. Politicians are just frontmen.
I really think that there is no longer any point in voting for anything. The sooner that the majority stop voting, the better. When the Gov is elected by only 20% of the population, it loses all legitimacy. Why do you think that politicians are so uptight about people not voting? UKIP would find themselves in exactly the same situation, so there is no point in voting for them either.
Democracy is a sham, as it exists at the moment. Special interest groups have taken control.
Except we are constantly told that the Chinese and other gangs are bringing in counterfeit tobacco/cigarettes and it is the major problem. The myth about conterfeit tobacco is that it's toxic. That's plainly ridiculous because you dont kill off your customer base whether it be because the product is toxic or just tastes foul. Word spreads quickly if a product is no good and that's bad for business.
The government's real issue is that none of this smuggled tobacco/cigarettes is EU Duty paid. Think about it, the amounts that are brought in are clearly not for personal use so if found it's confiscated ... period. Now as a gang you know this and it's a risk, a risk of losing a shipment and that means money. Now do you increase the amount of risk in monetary terms by purchasing your goods EU duty paid? .... of course not. The product comes from outside the EU .... less cost >>more profit.
What they do at the borders has no effect on this type of smuggling. What they are doing ia already illegal so the gov can bring in as many restrictions as they like ... to the smuggling gangs it matters not a jot. Except for one thing, if you stop legitimate shoppers buying what they are legally entitled to do, a not small percentage of these shoppers will become the gangs customers. So in efect, the smuggling gangs are all for restrictions at the border.
lt's as though the gov and the gangs are in business together. l could myself bring in a system quite easily that would seperate the legal shopper from the smuggler to a very large degree ... so could the goverment but the fact is they don't want to. The cross border shopper is being used as PR by the government to say 'look we are doing something'. ln reality they are ... and that's harassing, intimidating and robbing it's own citizens. Mr Smith, 70 yr old and his 3kg of tobacco are targeted, robbed and then it's proclaimed he's smuggling. No evidence that he actually is and no court of the land could ever convict him of such. This goes on day-in, day-out.
The trip proposed by some commentators could have highlighted such injustices and re-affirmed shoppers rights along with showing the folly of current tobacco control policies so why has it been ignored? At the very least discuss it because if it isn't, it's just taking liberties like ASH do.
Correct, Smoking Hot. Both the English Panorama program and the Irish panorama equivalent made a big thing out of the higher concentrations of lead in 'counterfeit' tobacco - "25 times higher", they said. (The two programs were almost totally identical) What struck me about the Irish program was the palpable embarrassment of the 'expert' who agreed that the lead increase was indeed 25 times the level of 'ordinary' cigarettes. Of course, he had no way of knowing whether or not he was comparing like with like.
Watching both of these (identical) programs, there were only two serious points. a) Smuggling deprives the exchequer of revenue, and b) counterfeit fags are dangerous. As regards the counterfeit danger, what neither program mentioned was that 25 times absolutely minuscule is still absolutely minuscule (0.000,000,1 times 25 equals 0.000,002,5). It is also true that the exchequer has no God-given right to steal our money, We do not have to agree. At worst, a 'smuggler' is an 'offender'. Discounting the 'increased lead content' (being minuscule and harmless), he does no physical harm to anybody.
Everything has changed. In the 1960s, going to the pub and drinking and smoking were the the social norm for most people. The costs were relatively reasonable. Now, there are many more calls on our income - gadgets and stuff. Thus, the cost of smoking and drinking has become more important. This fact impacts mostly on the poorest section of the population - those who cannot afford foreign holidays and such anyway.
'Duties' are just another way of describing 'levies'. They are just a word which means greater taxes. Levies at the moment include fags, alcohol, fuel, airlines, parking in the street outside you home, etc. They are like a 'suction machine' which sucks your money out of your pocket.
Prior to 2007, I also thought very little about these things. It was only when I realised that persecution, despotism and propaganda were creeeping into our ordinary lives that I began to wake up.
True Junican.
The major thing is that you cannot be convicted of smuggling when returning with your EU duty paid tobacco goods for personal use because they have no evidence to convict you with.
They merely 'believe' your goods are for a commercial purpose and so then confiscate them ... or in laymans terms 'rob you'. Prior to us joining Europe and hence 'free trade' (hahahahaha) it was cut and dried for Customs and so they had integrity. Sadly that is no longer the case ... they have targets to meet which are derived off the ONS's General Life Survey that encapsulates a massive 0.02% of the population!
See http://dickpuddlecote.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-is-lansley-playing-at.html
The smash and grab,muggings and hold-ups adds a further criminal element to rising cost of tobacco. We are seeing armed holdups, car break ins etc. ASH and the other health nazis should lock their doors and get themselves armed guards. They deserve to be robbed for being the major beneficiaries of this malignant tax