§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has that(a) banning tobacco advertising and (b) increasing the price of cigarettes will decrease the consumption of tobacco. [22759]
§ Mr. SackvilleIn 1992, the Department reviewed all the available evidence on the effect of tobacco advertising on tobacco consumption. The evidence is listed in the discussion document, "Effect of Tobacco Advertising on Tobacco Consumption", copies of which are available in the Library. The Government concluded on the basis of 413W the evidence reviewed that a ban on tobacco advertising in the United Kingdom would not have a major impact on reducing levels of smoking.
The Department recently published its view of the effect of price on tobacco consumption in the pamphlet, "The Importance of Price in Reducing Tobacco Consumption", copies of which are available in the Library. Studies show that an increase of 10 per cent. in the price of tobacco products can be expected to lead to a drop of between 3 per cent. and 6 per cent. in tobacco consumption. The studies are cited in the pamphlet.