UK Parliament home

This petition was submitted during the 2010 to 2015 Parliament

View other petitions from this Parliament

Closed The Government should stop the harassment of smokers

Closed on

It is accepted that smoking is harmful to health but, in a free country, a minority group should not be attacked in the way in which smokers are. Were smokers an ethnic group their treatment would be illegal.

We are told that smoking costs the NHS approximately £3 billion per year which may be true but the excise duty and VAT from tobacco sales contributes over £11 billion per year to the exchequer.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer should explain how the £8 billion shortfall would be made up if smokers responded to the Governments constant exhortations to stop smoking.

40 signatures

Show on a map

10,000

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

  • Petition closed

  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 18 November 2012.