Is it OK to take advantage and exploit people with an addiction?
 

Well, is it?

Is constantly raising the tobacco tax doing this?

I could argue the case for either side on this one and I think both arguments are pretty valid :laugh:

I want you Banned from smoking in the Street.


Smoke in Parks or your own garden only.

I thought this was going to be a moral debate about actually exploiting friends or relatives with drug addictions or something :joker:

But I'm with Nyarrm, when it comes to tobacco prices rising, I see both sides.

No need to be fascist about it. All I want is a quick drag of something that is legal.

We're already forced out into the cold and rain. Now we have to keep paying more and more for that discrimination.

Personally I think taxation should be mostly about raising money for public services rather than punishing people for behaviours.

Not imo, no.

The gambling companies are the most blatant at this. Every other ad, online, on tv etc is for gambling. They've been clever in recent years with the heavy promotion of everyday gambling being a social thing. They've done a 'great' job at normalising everyday gambling. I used to bet every weekend without fail on the football, though my last bet was the World Cup. After a good few grand wasted over the years down, i just find the idea of betting boring now.

The alcohol industry are also making a big push to attract the next gen of drinkers. Bud Light had a good go with that trans person on the cans. Especially for trying to attract younger people to drink beer, which has been on the downfall with younger drinkers over the years. Regardless of whether you drink beer or not, Bud Light is awful, so many other better tasting beers than that rubbish.

The argument you could use there (in a country with NHS) is that smokers should pay more to contribute to more health issues caused by smoking (a chosen behaviour) same with the tax on drink I suppose

Can't remember the last time I used the NHS. It's been so long, and I've never used it for anything related to smoking. Maybe one day I may do, who knows? But right now I'm not guilty of it.

I would say I am addicted to buying clothes, but that is my choice, I can cut down and stop if I want to so the answer is yes, you can kick the addiction if you want to Alf, you just dont want to so you have to roll with it

What I really find galling is tax on savings, you have already paid tax, then you save a bit and they tax you again

Could you cut down on travelling if your plane prices kept rising and rising?

Well yeah but you're still relatively young though

Tax on interest too, and inheritance tax. Effing bullshte.

And taxes on pensions! It's already been earned, keep your thieving hands off it, gov!!

Also, you could continually keep building hospitals and training staff with the tax from tobacco alone.

Gambling exploits people every day. It feels like every third ad on tv is for gambling.

I probably would have to tbf

Or property tax (not sure if that's a thing in the UK?) but we already pay stamp duty when buying the house and are paying tax on our wages as well that's used to pay back the mortgage, it's like a triple tax

You're giving our government waaaay too much credit.

It is a lot of tax on ciggies now so yeah there's that too, like I said I can see both sides of the argument on that one

Wouldn't want to though, would you? And some smokers Wouldn't want to just give up.

yep all wrong just greedy, and its criminal that Charles didn't pay any inheritance tax on 600 million or whatever it was he inherited

2 or 3 years ago I was paying around £12.50 for 30g of tobacco. Yesterday I had to pay £17.75.

No I get that you dont want to give up but that is your choice, there is tax on everything now anyway including a sugar tax so whatever your addition is you pay tax on it

To be fair I don't think anyone should pay any inheritance tax, so outside of "the principle" I'm not too made he got away with it.

I'm off them nearly a year and a half now but they're at €15.80 per 20 pack here now which is just under £14, that's crazy money