HM Treasury/Department of Health - 9 November 1999

ADDITIONAL MONEY FROM TOBACCO DUTY INCREASES TO GO TO HEALTH SPENDING

Chancellor Gordon Brown and Health Secretary Alan Milburn today announced that additional revenue raised from any real increases in tobacco duties in future would be spent on improved health care.

The Chancellor will in future form his Budget judgements on the appropriate level and timing of increases, taking into account into account a wide range of factors, including the Government's health objectives.

The Chancellor said:

"This Government is serious about tackling the deaths, disease and health inequalities caused by tobacco. Any new money will help to deliver a modern NHS which is fast and fair for patients."

Any additional revenue raised from real increases in tobacco duties in future would be spent on improved health care. For example, the extra revenue from a 5 per cent real terms rise in tobacco duty next spring would raise £300 million that would go to a further additional investment in the NHS from next April.

Alan Milburn said:

"Today's announcement demonstrates the commitment of the whole Government to tackling smoking and the ill-health it causes. It will give the NHS the means to modernise services and to help deal with some of the health damage caused by tobacco."

Price is only one means of reducing smoking and harm caused by smoking. The Government's "Smoking Kills" and "Saving Lives" White papers set out an integrated policy approach to counter reduce smoking and tackle smoking-related diseases. This includes a three year public education campaign, a ban on tobacco advertising, better help for people who want to quit smoking, together with ambitious targets to reduce the death rates from the two main tobacco-related killers: cancer and heart disease. These measures will complement any real terms increases in the price of tobacco and help reduce the 120,000 deaths from smoking in the UK each year.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. "Smoking Kills - A White Paper on Tobacco" was published on 10 December 1998. This is the most comprehensive plan to tackle smoking ever undertaken by a European Government to help prevent children start smoking and help the two out of three adults smokers who say they want to quit. This broad, integrated programme of action aims to cut the number of people smoking in Britain by 1.5 million by 2010. It includes the first ever national NHS smoking cessation programme, a public information campaign and a ban on tobacco advertising.

2. The White Paper "Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation" was published on 6 July 1999. It proposes new targets to cut preventable deaths - targets which were significantly tougher than those previously suggested in the public health Green Paper, Our Healthier Nation, published in February 1998. Two of the four targets focus on the main smoking related killers. The targets, to be achieved by 2010, are:

- Cancer: to reduce the annual death rate in people under 75 by at least a fifth, saving 100,000 lives;

- Coronary heart disease and stroke: to reduce the annual death rate in people under 75 by at least two fifths, saving 200,000 lives.

3. Under "Saving Lives", the NHS is being re-orientated to ensure that for the first time ever, health improvement will be integrated into the local delivery of health care. Health authorities have a new role in improving the health of local people and primary care groups and primary care trusts will, once established, have new responsibilities for public health.