Cigarettes Are Too Cheap, Apparently !

The budget is nearly here and doubtless the chancellor with want to squeeze more money out of us. He might be interested in a recent article in Tobacco Control (2002;11:35-43) which argues that cigarettes are, relatively speaking, cheaper than they have been for a long time. Their argument revolves around 'The Big Mac Index', a measure contrived by Economist magazine a while back, which compares the prices of things in the shops with the cost of a Big Mac. According to the Big Mac Index, cigarettes are now much more affordable than they were in the 1960's and so the price should be put up to discourage people from smoking, say the authors...