This article was first published on the Institute of Economic Affairs Substack. Official figures recently published by HMRC indicate a huge … Continue reading “The black market for tobacco is out of control”

Today is the fifth anniversary of the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco in Australia. Don’t expect much in the … Continue reading “Plain packaging in Australia, 5 years on: We told you so”

In these uncertain economic times, there is no better way for a lobbyist to get politicians’ attention than by promising … Continue reading “A thought experiment: what if everyone stopped drinking, smoking and overeating?”

When politicians ‘give’ us things, it is very difficult to take them away again. Here is a little-known case in … Continue reading “How benefits, once granted, become irreversible: a peculiar anecdote”

The technological breakthrough of e-cigarettes has placed the medical establishment and taxpayer-funded public health advocates in a bit of a … Continue reading “Don’t turn e-cigarettes into another tool of the state health nannies”

We should “choose the future” George Osborne insisted yesterday, in what may yet turn out to be his final Budget. … Continue reading “Small beer Budget: Osborne deserves credit for holding back on the bribery”

The poorest twenty per cent of households in Britain spend an average of £1,286 per year on ‘sin taxes’, including … Continue reading “The consumption taxes that keep people poor”