MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
So not wanting to get into the whole justification argument thing but is there anything that states whether a smoker pays more in tax vs the expected care costs?
maybe but who cares, it's a vile habit that hurts others tax the life out of it
smokers both pay more taxes and die younger. From the stats I have seen they actually overall increase the amount of money available for healthcare - partly 'cos they don't use much pension as they die off.
My understanding has always been that smokers are great for the exchequer.
They pay loads of tax and die nice and quickly, therefore cheaply.
APF
Most stats I've seen were for "the smoker" and ignored other costs- passive smoking, cost impact on survivors/families/employers/dependents. TBH it's the sort of thing where the numbers are always going to be basically made up.
I get the early death argument but intervention costs are also significant. I doubt there are accurate enough statistics to settle it.
when you purchase an annuity - if you are a smoker you get much better rates 'cos you die younger.
Mountain bikers are the real menance.
They fall off their bikes all the time, insist on a helicopter ride to hospital, and then have £1,000's of kit put in them.
They do it all again, and live bloody ages.
Would be better if everyone just staid at home and took up smoking
Mountain bikers are the real menance.They fall off their bikes all the time, insist on a helicopter ride to hospital, and then have £1,000's of kit put in them.
Ah, but they spend £5k every other year on a new mountain bike and upgrades, they buy expensive vans to transport said bike and then drive around the countryside using fuel and paying for council car parks at trail centres.
Surely this extra tax going into the exchequer offsets the NHS bill for the odd colarbone and concussion 😉
Far less smokers are sat pissing themselves in care homes while being beaten up
TBH it's the sort of thing where the numbers are always going to be basically made up.
Calling Jamabalaya
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I can't find the article but I'm sure a while ago I read that it was a bit of a myth that the ciggy tax covered the cost of the resultant NHS costs.
Though I think there was an assumption that not 100% of the ciggy tax raised went on the NHS and was just put in the general tax pot for other things too.
£12billion in revenue from tobacco. £3billion in lost revenue from black market cigarettes .....must be a substantial number of smokers contributing nothing. Other than noxious smells.
Do you know what, is actually very hard to find good data on this!
Ash, who are an anti-smoking body claim they cost us.
TMA, who are the tobacco manufacturers association, unsurprisingly say they make the treasury fortunes, if you consider the full taxation of the industry - but they include employee PAYE in that, which is fairly rude.
Then there is 'Full Fact' who are a charity set-up to provide unbiased information, who are of course run by a Tory right winger who only seeks to push Pro-Brexit and other right of centre causes opinion as fact.
The only upside, smokers are a dying breed, literally and the youngster who are replacing them are into vaping now, which may or may not be safe, no one really knows (okay some do, but they aren't telling) but as it's not technically smoke, they can do it indoors and it's still very, very addictive which helps with customer retention no end.