The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is in the Lords today for its committee stage. Tory peers are warning of a crime wave with people being driven to buy tobacco products on the black market…
Lord Murray of Blidworth said:
“The idea that because the government bans a product it extinguishes demand for it is pure fantasy. The Government’s policy of approach the Government’s policy approach of exceptionally high taxation on tobacco is already failing and a generational ban will only cement its failure. And the representation of that failure can be found in the flourishing black market. So long as there is a flourishing alternative market, consumer demand will always be met with cheaper illicit tobacco. Taxes on tobacco have become so expensive that people are switching in huge numbers to buy cheaper illicit products. Not only does this result in a decline in vital tax revenue to the tune of about 1 billion pounds a year, it is doing nothing to bring down smoking rates which have now stalled since 2020”.
Meanwhile one in five smokers is already buying from the black market. All those tax receipts cash going up in smoke…
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