Smokers May Need A £10permit Soon To Buy Cigarettes In England

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Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Also Included In: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs;  Public Health
Article Date: 16 Feb 2008 - 14:00 PDT

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A UK Government Health Advisory Body, called Health England, says English smokers should be made to pay £10 ($20) for a Smoker's Permit - without this permit they would not be able to buy cigarettes, cigars, loose tobacco or pipe tobacco.

According to Health England Chairman, Professor Julian Le Grand, in a BBC interview, this measure would have a significant impact in reducing the number of smokers in the country.

Forest, a lobby group that represents the wishes of smokers, has labeled this proposal as "outrageous". The UK already has virtually the most expensive cigarettes in the world, where a packet of 20 cigarettes costs about $11 - most of the cost is made up of tax.

Le Grand says the £10 should go to the National Health Service. However, many comment that the UK Government already collects billions of pounds each year in tobacco tax and makes a tidy profit when tobacco related NHS costs are compared to this income. It could be easily argued that the British smoker is already subsidizing the health of non-smokers (if the government were to dedicate all its tobacco-tax collections to the National Health Service).

Le Grand believes the hassle of getting a permit, which he says would be complicated, may put many smokers off, thus reducing the number of people who smoke. Le Grand said "You've got to get a form, a complex form - the government's good at complex forms; you have got to get a photograph. It's a little bit of a problem to actually do it, so you have got to make a conscious decision every year to opt in to being a smoker."

As 70% of smokers want to give up, this obstacle may help them make the decision, Le Grand believes. He says that if the state were to make it that bit more difficult for people to restart in the first place, it should make a substantial difference to their chances of staying off tobacco.

Simon Clark, of Forest, said that the mind boggles when one thinks of the cost of the extra bureaucracy and enforcement. He added that the ones who would suffer the most would be elderly and low income smokers. All this will do as add to the red tape that has been piling up in England.

At Medical News Today we have received several comments on this issue, from smokers, non-smokers and parents. The arguments tend to follow three main themes.

1. Human rights. The smoker already pays enormous amounts of tax. What next? A licence for obese people to buy chocolates?

2. From non-smoking and smoking parents. This measure may perhaps make it less easy and less attractive for youngsters to start smoking in the first place.

3. From smokers and non-smokers. This government likes to meddle in everybody's affairs. This measure will create a huge black market which will make it even harder for the police and authorities to work properly. How will it be enforced? Will there be inspectors closing down shopkeepers who do not ask for a licence? What about a tourist who smokes - will he/she have to fill in a complicated form as well, even if he/she is in England for just a couple of days?

-- Forest
-- Health England

Written by - Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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