Minister: Smokers' treatment costs one tenth of taxes

Minister: Smokers' treatment costs one tenth of taxes | Prague Monitor:

An analysis the Czech Health Ministry has made shows that Czech smokers pay in consumer taxes and VAT dozens of billions of crowns more than what their treatment costs, the Czech Television (CT) public broadcaster Sunday quoted Health Minister Leos Heger (TOP 09) as saying.

Heger said public finances would lose minimally 50 billion crowns without smokers.

He said recently he would like a part of the collected tax to go to his sector.

"About six billion crowns is spent on the treatment of smokers' diseases in the system of public health insurance annually while the tax on tobacco products brings in the state budget about 60 billion," Heger said.

CT said that according to the analysis, the state collects 44 billion crowns in consumer tax on tobacco annually and another 16 billion crowns are paid by smokers in VAT.

The treatment of cancer, heart attack and other tobacco-related diseases, however, costs the insurance companies only six billion, CT said referring to the analysis.

Right,so let's wipe out smoking and take the economy down at the same time.

Brilliant!