Comment on the gambling levy announcement

Action on Smoking and Health responds to the Government announcement that they will implement a statutory levy on gambling companies to pay for treatment, research and education to reduce the harms from gambling:

Deputy Chief Executive, Hazel Cheeseman said:
“With the announcement of a new mandatory levy on gambling companies today it is vital that Government take a close look at this approach for other harm causing industries. In particular, the tobacco industry which is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths every year. Public support for levies on industries which cause harm is very high. 6 in 10 people support a levy on alcohol and unhealthy food manufacturers and more than 7 in 10 support levies for gambling and tobacco industries. ASH hopes that DHSC will be closely involved in the development of this new gambling levy and will assess how this approach can be applied to address the leading causes of preventable ill health and death.“

ASH has long called for a levy on the tobacco industry. A profit cap which limited tobacco industry profits to 10% or less would raise £700m and could be used to reduce smoking rates and address other public health problems.