IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon has been quoted in The Daily Mail criticising the government’s new plan to prohibit smoking for the next generation and responding the argument that smokers are a net fiscal drain.

Christopher said:

“The Government is being extremely misleading about the cost of smoking, perhaps because it has been wilfully misled by the anti-smoking lobby,’ he said. 

“Of the £17billion it claims smoking costs the country, £14 billion is made up of ‘lost productivity’ such as lost earnings. 

“These are not costs to taxpayers and it is wrong to compare them to the £10billion in tax paid by smokers in tobacco duty.”

Read the full article here.

Christopher’s criticisms were also quoted in The Daily Express, The Scottish Daily Express, Lad Bible, Business Matters, and MSN.