Nanny's £25BN Sin Taxes

Nanny hates the fact that we drink, smoke and eat sugar, but is nonetheless delighted to make money of of our "sins".

In fact Nanny is raking it in. According to an estimate by the Institute of Economic Affairs, in a  report entitled "‘Smoking and the Public Purse", Nanny is set to screw us to the tune of £25BN next year.

With the forthcoming sugar levy expected to raise £500 million per year, the government’s revenues from sin taxes will now total £24.7 billion by 2018. Contrary to popular belief, the three most censured ‘lifestyle factors’ – alcohol, smoking and obesity – do not cost the taxpayer money. The punitive taxes levied on them more than cover the costs they impose on public finances, providing a net saving to the government of £22.8 billion.

Costs and savings from smoking

• The government spends £3.6 billion treating smoking-related diseases on the NHS and up to £1 billion collecting cigarette butts and extinguishing smoking-related house fires.


• The government saves £9.8 billion annually in pension, healthcare and other benefit payments due to premature mortality.


• The government brings in £9.5 billion annually in duty paid on tobacco.

This means that smoking produces a net saving to the government of £14.7 billion a year, at current rates of consumption.

Costs and savings from drinking

• The gross cost to public services, including healthcare for drinking related diseases and expenditure on public order, is £4.6 billion.


• The government brings in £10.7 billion annually in duty paid on alcohol.


• Net benefit: £6.1 billion

Only obesity incurs a net cost to the taxpayer of £2.5 billion a year. Once the sugar levy is introduced this will decrease to £2 billion.

As the IEA notes:

"It may be easy to point the finger of blame at smokers, drinkers and the obese for rising NHS costs, but this no longer stands up to scrutiny given the findings of this report and the levels of taxation now levied on ‘sin’. And by scapegoating these people, campaigners and policymakers risk ignoring the real problem that our healthcare system faces: an ageing population."

There you have it folks, the real "enemy" of the NHS is not boozers/smokers/obese but the elderly!

This of course presents Nanny with a problem, for if we follow her puritanical lifestyle recommendations we will live to a ripe old, dementia ridden, frail age and bankrupt the NHS.

Would it not be more cost effective for Nanny to tell us to drink, smoke and eat ourselves to a youngish death?


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