Budget 2011 - another attack on smokers and drinkers

Today, the Chancellor George Osborne delivered his second budget - and used it as an opportunity to hike taxes on drinkers and smkers. According to Big Brother Watch's calculations, since 1999 tax on a pint of beer has increased 57%. The levy imposed on a 20 pack of cigarettes has gone up 54%. Someone drinking 7 pints of beer a week is paying around £58 a year more than they did in 1999, while the cost of smoking a 20-pack of cigarettes each day has increased by around £327. Drinking beer and smoking cigarettes is a matter of basic personal...

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