The breathtaking hypocrisy and crocodile tears of ASH
Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 0:10 Quitting smoking could lift 418,000 households and 1.1 million people out of poverty, says ASH.
A new ‘Local Poverty Calculator’ published today by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) shows local councils how many people in their area are in poverty because of smoking and what an impact services to help people quit smoking can have to reduce rates of poverty.
The national data, first published in June, shows that of the 5 million households in England that include an adult smoker 1.4 million (27%) are below the poverty line. An estimated 418,000 households could be lifted out of poverty if they quit smoking.
These households comprise roughly 1.1 million people including 325,000 children and 156,000 pensioners. On average households that include a smoker spend £2,158 a year on tobacco.
In response Forest accused ASH of "breathtaking hypocrisy".
Simon Clark, director of Forest, said: "Anti-smoking campaigners love it when tobacco taxation goes up but they ignore the impact it has on those who can least afford it.
"Punitive taxation on tobacco, which ASH supports, increases poverty in some households so it's breathtaking hypocrisy to use the poverty card as part of their campaign to force people to quit.
"Their lack of empathy for adults who enjoy a cigarette is staggering. Tobacco is a legal product and smokers have a right to expect a level of taxation that is fair and reasonable and doesn't increase inequality.
"The argument that giving up smoking will lift people out of poverty is also unrealistic because the odds are they will spend the money on other things, which is their choice."
See New figures show each local authority how many people could be lifted out of poverty if they quit smoking (ASH) and Anti-smoking policies help create and sustain poverty, says Forest (Forest Online).
Update: I'll be discussing this on BBC Radio Devon shortly after 8.00am.
Meanwhile the Northumberland Gazette is the first to fall for the propaganda – Quitting smoking would lift 59,000 in North East out of poverty.
Yeah, right. Then they'll tax sugar, introduce minimum pricing of alcohol … and so it goes on.
Update: Interestingly the 'story' seems to have bombed. There are a handful of regional reports but nothing in the national media (not even the Guardian).
Perhaps it was the line 'first published in June' that put them off. Then again, it's worked for ASH before. Recycling old data is one of their favourite pastimes.
Update: Following a gentle nudge the Northumberland Gazette updated its report to include a quote from Forest.
Reader Comments (11)
Regressive tobacco taxes are a form of regressive totalitarian social control. Tobacco taxes should be reduced to reasonable levels and government funded charities like ASH that lobby he government should be de-funded to absorb the shortfall
Lets turn that around 418,000 households living below the poverty line because of regressive tobacco taxation policies brought in by the likes of ASH.
I think ASH should somehow be held accountable for this, if the tax increases that it has pushed for has in fact by their own admission, brought poverty to so many families..
If government tax policies and the cost of tobacco is resulting in whole households living below the poverty line then clearly something is very wrong.
If the ASH calculator is right then reducing tobacco taxes would lift entire households out of poverty, its clearly not fair to target smokers in this way as it is affecting the well being of everyone else.
It's well-documented that the lentil and brown rice brigade aren't the poor. A cigarette provides instant comfort to a smoker whose life is one of a grinding, boring day-to-day existence.
I do wonder what constitutes 'below the poverty line'. Only having a 32" flatscreen TV as opposed to a 50"?
And as you point out, Simon, if the tax on tobacco products was reasonable, this issue would not exist. Hypocrisy indeed.
A significant proportion of the 418,000 households (and, indeed many others) will not be contributing the full £2158 (c.£700 million) pa to HMRC because they are smoking cheaper contraband tobacco. Which means that all law-abiding households must be contributing far more.
I thought earnings decided if you were in 'poverty', not what you ultimately spend them on?
Everyone promotes equality except from the antis , they prefer 'health equality' because they are the main reason that a lot of poor become poorer...So disgust with their hypocrisy
The antis never said that tackling health inequalities meant making damn sure that smokers are treated less equal than others.
Maybe Forest could do some research. I know I've been discriminated against and refused minor treatments simply because I smoke, and I'm guessing other smokers have to.
I want my 48 years of product tax back because I get bugger all in terms of healthcare for it. #Theft
Its all about brainwashing, which I must hand it to them, they have succeeded totally, they remind me of the Hitler youth movement, keep the media onslaught against smoking going without a lull at all costs.
I think the UK antis have copied the world leaders on bans ie Ireland, on their successful achievement for banning everything from smoking to whatever you can put into your mouth if it does not comply with their agenda.
Yeah, they're getting a big run on the 'below the poverty line' spin,
because it conjures up an image of an Onslow type character in a string vest with a fag hanging out of his mouth and lets face it when it comes down to the class thing what pleb wants a moniker like that attached to them and the spin doctor who thought that one up must be still dining out on it.
Here in Ireland they've gone further with it, they're now using 'the below the povery line' spin on sugar, alcohol, fizzy drinks and the latest one is red meat, sausages and bacon, that is until the farming lobby started a rumble over it and they had to back down and drop the proposed tax in the latest budge, votes might be lost as there's an election in a few months.
So I think the only hope is for us smokers to wait for the day when it will become fashionable again for the posh to be the ony ones that can afford to have a fag dangling from their mouths!!
Aren't they clever. That wasn't a move that I expected.
They caused the regressive taxation and are using it to their advantage.
If ministers still swallow their rhetoric then ...........
Please can I have my taxes back. They lied as to why they were put up in THAT BUDGET.
Utterly shocked with this , but no doubt the current government will fall for it along with all councils. After all the main parties all believe their lies regarding 2HS.
Forest must push for tobacco taxes being reduced or frozen, such a high tax is clearly having a far reaching affect if 156,000 pensioners and 325,000 children as estimated are now living in poverty stricken households because of it.
Is it fair to the children living in those households? The Ash calculator shows us that the price of tobacco is now too high and that the tax increases that it pushes for will create more poverty.