[West Ender]

That is a valid argument on the face of it, Bazf - BUT - suppose they made tobacco products illegal. With the loss of revenue from cigarettes and tobacco I very much fear there would no longer be a Health Service. That is the very reason why tobacco will not become a banned substance.

Income tax rates are lower now than at any time since I have worked in the department and what isn't generated from that source must be recouped from elsewhere. The government-generated hysteria against smoking is a good ploy to enable the chancellor to levy higher and higher duty on tobacco without a public outcry. What a coup if the very people who are maintaining the NHS could be denied its services into the bargain.