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Written question asked by Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative) on Tuesday, 28 November 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 30 November 2023. It was answered by Gareth Davies (Conservative) on Tuesday, 5 December 2023 on behalf of the Treasury.


Tobacco

Question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact that a generational ban on the purchase of cigarettes will have on the (a) excise duty and (b) VAT gap on tobacco products.

Answer

As announced by the Prime Minister on 4 October 2023, the Government is creating the first smokefree generation, by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco products. This will prevent future generations from ever taking up smoking, as there is no safe age to smoke. The ‘Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation’ command paper sets out the proposed actions the Government will take to tackle smoking and youth vaping: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stopping-the-start-our-new-plan-to-create-a-smokefree-generation

The Government launched the ‘Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping’ consultation on 12 October on the smokefree generation policy detailed in the command paper: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping

Once final policy decisions are confirmed, the impact of those decisions on the public finances will be assessed and reflected in the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast.

A smokefree generation will save the NHS billions over the long-term and put cash back in the pockets of millions of families across this country.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
4083
Session
2023-24
Related items
Tobacco
Monday, 29 January 2024
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
Excise duties Young people VAT Tobacco Smoking
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk