THE WHITE Paper on Smoking, published last week, is misleading on the issue of cigarette tax.

It says tax is set high to act as an incentive to smoke less and promises more of the same. Yet the Government's own Living in Britain Survey, published in March, shows that adult smoking rates have increased among both men and women over the last three years - the period when cigarette tax hikes have been at their most severe.

Although bristling with statistics, the White Paper makes no mention of the amount the Government collects in tax from smokers to help run the country.

This is a massive figure in excess of £10 billion a year or 8p on income tax.

Mr Dobson obviously wants Britain to give up smoking, but he should not expect smokers to give up their intelligence.

Vernon Winterbottom

North West Co-ordinator

Fair Cigarette Tax Campaign

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.