Tobacco Sector Wants Freeze on Cigarette Duty

Academics found the number of smokers in Eastern Europe did not fall when 10 states joined the EU in 2004 – even though the price of cigarettes soared by as much as 100pc ahead of wages when they became subject to Brussels rules on minimum tax levels. On average, the afford ability of cheap cigarettes, measured by minutes of work needed to buy a pack of 20, fell by 40pc. But there was no fall in smoking prevalance – and in several countries, the number of smokers actually rose, to the bafflement of researchers. Cigarette makers say the research shows successive tobacco duty hikes are unjustified. "There was no correlation between changes in cigarette affordability and changes in prevalence, either before or after adjustment for unemployment rates or changes in Tobacco Control Scale Scores [the measure of how easily cigarettes are sold]", the researchers wrote in Addiction, the medical journal. "We expected to see a marked reduction in smoking prevalence," the team, funded by Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and the Department of Health, added.