by Nigel Farage has called smokers “the heroes of the nation in terms of the amount of tax they pay”, in response to a possible ban on cigarettes outside pubs.
Reform UK leader Benson and Hedges opened fire outside the Westminster Arms shortly before 6pm on Thursday, less than 400m from the Prime Minister’s official residence in Downing Street.
Sir Keir Starmer told reporters earlier that smoking-related deaths are “preventable” and that his ministers would make “decisions” about a ban on outdoor cigarettes.
According to a leaked Whitehall paper, seen by The Sun newspaper, ministers could extend the indoor smoking ban to beer gardens, university and hospital campuses, sports grounds, children’s playgrounds and small parks.
Taking questions in the pub, Mr Farage told the PA news agency: “You’ll notice that very few people drink in there, they drink outside.
“Why? Because they are allowed to smoke outside.
“I’ve been coming here for 30 years, regularly, every week for 30 years.
“If the Government says I can’t have a drink and a smoke outside, I won’t come back.
“And I’m one of the hundreds of regular customers in this pub who take that view.
“And look, you know, I understand that people didn’t like smoking in enclosed areas, but now you have the choice – you can be inside, you can be outside, you can avoid it if you want .
“I don’t think the Government has thought about the consequences of this.
“Will we really be smoke free by 2030? Well, let me ask another question – will we be drug free by 2030?
“What the Government is doing is attacking something that is legal because it has given up on attacking the illegal drug trade, but if you tax tobacco too heavily, which is being done we, if you control and must prevent people from smoking anywhere, it is what you do. you drive it into the hands of criminals.”
Mr Farage claimed that “cigarettes are now being sold over the counter in Australia, huge criminal gangs are behind” the tobacco trade.
According to the Australian Taxation Office, the Canberra-based bureau has agreed to raise taxes by an additional 5% per year, starting in September last year, in addition to normal index-linked increases. .
The previous Conservative government proposed a ban on cigarettes for anyone aged 15 or under.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would have made it an offense for shopkeepers to sell tobacco or herbal smoking products, or cigarette papers, to anyone born after 1 January 2009, and it was close to clearing the House of Commons before calling Rishi Sunak the General Election i. May.
Labor proposed reviving those proposals as part of the King’s Speech in July.
“A Bill will be introduced to gradually increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes and to impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes,” Charles told peers and MPs in the House of Lords.
Mr Farage said: “This is not just the Labor Party.
“I mean, this is the political class saying, you know, ‘We know what’s best for you, you have to do what we tell you’.
“Rishi Sunak’s plans were mad that a 25-year-old could buy a smoke in 10 years and a 24-year-old couldn’t.”
When asked about the cost of smoking to the NHS, the Clacton MP in Essex replied: “Well, last time I looked, tobacco revenue was four or five times the cost of the NHS every year .
“There is no economic argument for that.
“In fact, you could argue that smokers are the heroes of the nation in terms of the amount of tax they pay.”
Asked about plans to ban smoking on a visit to Paris, where he attended the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics, Sir Keir said: “I think it’s important to get the balance right, but everyone who uses the NHS will know it’s going on. his knees.
“We have to lighten the burden, which is why I spoke before the election about changing to a preventative health model.”
The Prime Minister said: “My starting point on this is to remind everyone that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking. That’s a preventable death.
“It’s a huge burden on the NHS, and, of course, it’s a burden on the taxpayer. So, yes, we are going to make decisions in this space.
“More details will be revealed, but this is a series of preventable deaths, and we need to take action to reduce the burden on the NHS and reduce the burden on the taxpayer.”
According to the charity Action on Smoking and Health, in the year after England’s smoke-free laws were introduced in 2007, hospital admissions for heart attacks fell by 2.4%, saving the NHS £8.4 million in the first year.
