Nidge

So 400,000 have quit, the duty on a £5.00 packet of ciggies is for arguments sake £4.00, 400,000 used to smoke 20 a day they have since packed up thats a loss of £1,600,000 in duty per day, add that over the year and you have £83,200,000 in lost revenue, that's alot of money slipping through the treasury's hands, this loss will have to be clawed back, which way is it going to be clawed back?? Hike beer up to £4.00 a pint? Hike up petrol and diesel again? Up VAT to 20% it's got to come from somewhere.

The Government get £6billion a year in tobacco taxes, the cost to treat smoking related illnesses is £500million, they are making a tidy packet there aren't they?

Beer.....the Government gets £8billion a year in alcohol duty, the cost to treat, prevent violence, clean up after the weekends goings on are £12billion, of this money you've got the Police to pay who police the weekends drinking sprees, you've got the nurses who are at the A&E waiting for the low life to be bought in, you've got the Paramedics who have to take them to the hospital, you've got the clean up squads who have to work weekends to clear up the pavement pizza's left by the people who've had to much beer, there's the damage to pay for after violence has flared like smashed windows etc etc, you've then got to pay £50 to the alcoholics who are on disability payments each week.

The Government won't increase alcohol duty because most of the MP's are on the brewery's pay roll.

Keep hitting the smokers who get a raw deal every time, there are more alcoholics in this country than there are people who suffer from smoking related diseases.