Tobacco policy must not increase poverty, says report

The British government's policy of increasing the real price of cigarettes each year does nothing to cut smoking among the least well off, according to research carried out by the Policy Studies Institute, an independent charity. Indeed, say the researchers, it merely increases hardship, since those least able to afford cigarettes are those who are most likely to smoke.

The study, which was funded by the Health Education Authority, finds that, while smoking has halved among the better off families in Britain since the 1970s, there has been no change among those on low incomes. In addition, lone parents …