§ Mrs. LaitTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence he has evaluated of changes in the level of consumption of alcohol and tobacco by people(a) under and (b) over 18 years of age; and what assessment he has made of the cause of those changes. [70020]
§ Ms JowellLevels of consumption of alcohol and tobacco are measured in surveys carried out by the Office for National Statistics, on behalf of the Department. The results are presented and discussed in Statistics reports "Living In Britain—results from the 1996 General Household Survey", "Smoking among secondary school children in 1996: England" and "Young teenagers and alcohol 1996". Copies of these reports are available in the Library.
§ Mrs. LaitTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions have been held at meetings of EU health ministers on the implications for the health of EU residents of differences in excise duty on tobacco and alcohol; and at which meetings he has raised this issue. [70019]
§ Ms JowellIn December 1996 the European Commission published its communication on the role of the Community in combating tobacco consumption, which considered a range of options for possible future action at Community level, including the level of excise duty on tobacco within Member States. I ensured that smoking reduction was discussed at the Health Council on 30 April 1998 during the United Kingdom Presidency. The Health Council has kept the issue under review since then. The Health Council has not discussed the issue of excise duty on alcohol during this period.