Smoking (Hansard, 27 November 1984)

§ Mr. Dubs
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any proposals to discourage smoking.

§ 44. Mr. Willie W. Hamilton
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what new initiatives he intends to take to curb cigarette smoking.

§ Mr. John Patten
The Government are concerned to reduce smoking in this country and are taking action on a wide range of fronts to achieve this aim. In the last Budget the duty on cigarettes was increased by 10p per packet. During the year we have given an extra £½ million to the Health Education Council for its anti-smoking campaigns, while the grant to Action on Smoking and Health for 1984–85 has been increased by 12 per cent. To help reduce the risk to people who continue to smoke we have recently concluded a voluntary agreement with the tobacco industry which will bring about a further reduction in the average tar yield of cigarettes and provide a good deal of extra money for research into the effects of tobacco product modification.
464W
the total annual value of the unclaimed benefits for (1) family income supplement, (2) supplementary benefit, (3) one-parent benefit and (4) free school meals, at the latest date for which figures are available and in each of the preceding three years.

§ Mr. Whitney
Not all the information requested is available. The data on take-up of benefits do not allow for regional break-downs to be made. National estimates on an annual basis are available only for one-parent benefit. Estimates of take-up of means-tested benefits are made from analyses of survey data and these are not made annually. The latest available estimates for Great Britain are given in the table:
Special attention is being paid to discouraging smoking among young people. Recent Government action in this field has included the publication of new guidelines for retailers on illegal sales of cigarettes to children under 16 and an increase in the maximum penalty for this offence. In addition, a leaflet has been sent to schools drawing attention to the dangers of smoking and two further research studies of children's smoking habits have been commissioned.
The Government will continue vigorously to discourage smoking at every opportunity and strive to achieve further progress in dealing with this major public health problem.