What would you cut?

[Svartalf]

Man, do you know what governments are made of? tax free is anathema to them, just like if you tried telling chretins in the West that churches face east because Allah was preparing the ground before they consciously converted to the muslim faith and decided to pray facing Mecca

[Pappa]

People still would smuggle. With cigarettes in continental Europe it's in the two-digit percent range of the market, as far as I know. (responding to Pappa's post)

Something like 80% of rolling tobacco smoked in the UK is smuggled in, selling for half its legal retail price. If tax on tobacco was halved, the majority of people would probably buy legal supplies rather than resort to a slightly cheaper illegal alternative. But the government have boxed themselves into a corner on that one.

that much? you sure that figure is reliable?

No. I was relying on my shit memory.

Though I did just find this unreferenced figure:

in 2004-05 illicit market share was estimated to be 53%-64% of the total market.

http://www.smokefreesuffolk.co.uk/Illeg ... fault.aspx

and:

for the financial year 20006-07 it is estimated that just under half (47%) of hand-rolling tobacco smoked in Britain was smuggled

http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_122.pdf

[Svartalf]

You know I'd have swallowed that figure if you'd just posted "yeah, I'm sure."

I love me an honest man... suckers.

[Berthold]

Something like 80% of rolling tobacco smoked in the UK is smuggled in, selling for half its legal retail price. If tax on tobacco was halved, the majority of people would probably buy legal supplies rather than resort to a slightly cheaper illegal alternative. But the government have boxed themselves into a corner on that one.

Is this estimate made by comparing the sales of cigarette paper to the sales of tobacco? I once read of studies where they took this mismatch to estimate cannabis use.

[FBM]

It out.