25-12-17, 03:36 PM
(25-12-17, 03:27 PM)tommyardin link Wrote: Yep! Your not wrong YamFazFan,
The Government try to claim the higher ground by saying that smoking is bad for your health, and to be honest not many people would argue, except the few who say I have been smoking for 30 years and it's never done me any harm or my Granddad smoked 30 Capstan Full Strength a day and he lived to 97 years old, but these people are the exception not the rule, there are thousands upon thousands that die prematurely each year from smoking related illnesses.
The Government infer that they are taxing this tobacco and related products to try to discourage people from harming themselves and costing the N.H.S millions a year on treatment for related illness.
The truth is (Well my version of it and I am a bit cynical here) tax/income on tobacco products far out weights the total cost of the whole of the N.H.S each year, and to be honest government are happy if 15% percent of our population die prematurely as the Pension System in this country is being pushed to the limit with us old farts living longer.
So tax the smokers heavily so that a not insignificant percentage of them struggle financially to buy 20 Fags at about £6-50 a pack, keep them taxed up to the limit and worried and the only outlet or relief that they feel they have is their smokes, and around we go again.
I retired a few years ago now and one guy I worked with smoked about 30 a day as did his wife, Kenny told me that they smoked an extra pack each each at the weekends making it 40 a day each for 2 days at the week ends, at that time fag were £5.50 a pack of 20. that equates to £126.50 a week that is at least £506 a month. for a 28 day month plus another £33.00 for a 31 day month.
We are actually talking the cost of a moderate mortgage here, or £6,360 quid a year, or the price of a brand new car every two years.
Also bearing in mind those costs quoted per pack of fags is now 3 years out of date :eek
20 fags average around £10 a pack now.
Can't disagree with a word of that though.