Major retailers hit with new cigarette and alcohol tax

The proposal — condemned by large business organisations — follows the failed ''Tesco Tax'' the SNP attempted to include in this year's budget.

Mr Swinney said the new tax was ''fair and proportionate'' and a vital revenue-raising measure given a backdrop of a real-terms reduction in the budget of £1.6 billion between this year and 2014-15.

He estimates £110 million will be generated in the next three years by imposing the levy through a business rates supplement on premises with a rateable value above £300,000 that sell tobacco and alcohol.

He confirmed a further one-year freeze on public sector pay — including the wages of ministers.

And he admitted that pension employee contributions will have to be raised for teachers, NHS, police and fire schemes despite his party's objection to the UK Government measure.

Mr Swinney told MSPs his review fell at a ''defining moment'' against the backdrop of ''savage reductions'' from Westminster.

But he said the new parliamentary majority allowed a ''decisive shift'' to preventative spending measures, which will see the state intervening earlier in social issues.

Explicitly linking the move to the new business tax, he added: ''Scotland's health and social problems associated with alcohol and tobacco use are well documented and are something we are firmly committed to addressing.

''These problems affect not only the health of the population, but create additional burdens on policing, local authorities and the NHS.''

But Ian Shearer, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, attacked the tax, saying: ''This ... is a blatant fundraising exercise which is illogical and discriminatory.''

However, it was welcomed by Andy Willox, of the Federation of Small Businesses, who said: ''Moves to make large out-of-town retailers pay a more proportionate level of rates will be welcomed by many of our members on the high street.''

Mr Swinney said ''tough choices'' were needed to balance the books, calling for further savings in public services.

Confirming the public sector pay freeze for the coming year, he hoped it would be the last before ''modest increases.''

Any employee earning less than £21,000 will continue to receive at least a £250 rise in their salary.

Mr Swinney also confirmed the measure of switching more than £750 million from the Scottish resource budget to the capital budget in an attempt to stimulate economic growth.

Labour's finance spokesman Richard Baker said: ''If councils are to meet the costs of the SNP's pledges, it will mean more council workers losing their jobs, further cuts in service and the evidence of the last parliament is that education and social work budgets will be particularly badly hit.''

Conservative finance spokesman Gavin Brown said the SNP was failing to ''match rhetoric with reality,'' while Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie defended the spending decisions taken by the UK Government.

Nonetheless, with the blessing of this vocal minority, this is exactly what cigarettes giant Philip Morris intends to do in August.

This summer Philip Morris will introduce a cigarettes product called snus (pronounced, snoose) in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to test market its appeal to adult smokers. And some cigarettes experts are applauding this effort. Snus is a form of cigarettes developed in Sweden that seems to be less risky than American smokeless cigarettes products such as moist snuff (like Skoal), chewing cigarettes (like Red Man) or dried, powdered snuff (Dental, Tube Rose, Peach and other brands). Using snus for smoking cessation falls under the banner of "harm reduction," and has some support in the field of cigarettes control. Such an approach seems appealing: By reducing a smoker's dependence on cigarettes, switching to smokeless cigarettes (particularly snus) potentially reduces the risk for a whole host of smoking-related illnesses. Harm reduction has been used successfully in other addictions: methadone administration for heroin addicts, for example, or clean needle exchanges for injecting drug users. But residual cigarettes-related health risks remain when a smoker quits by using smokeless cigarettes, and these risks are not trivial when compared to quitting totally. Less Risk Is Still RiskAlthough smokeless cigarettes is much less risky than cigarettes, nonetheless mouth cancer and poor oral health definitely occur. There are also studies among large populations that show cardiovascular disease and even death by using this product. Overall, in terms of cancer, the risk of developing mouth cancer drops from an eight-fold increased risk to a 1.2-fold increase risk when switching from cigarettes to smokeless cigarettes. This is an impressive drop, but still leaves a 20 percent increase in mouth cancer risk compared to the use of no cigarettes at all.'Snus' Less Harmful Than Cigarettes, but Still Harmful Smokeless cigarettes use also seems to be associated with increased blood pressure. Among 135 middle-aged healthy volunteers, smokeless cigarettes users had on average a five-point elevation in blood pressure measured throughout the day. Another large study among over 30,000 construction workers showed that smokeless cigarettes users were nearly two times more likely to have higher blood pressures than noncigarettes users. This study was not without limitations, but is plausible in the light of other evidence. Other studies, while not definitive, indicate that smokeless cigarettes users may have higher rates of diabetes and abnormal cholesterol levels. Furthermore, among youth, use of smokeless cigarettes correlates with other risky behaviors such as alcohol and marijuana use, higher rates of carrying weapons, increased physical fighting, and sexual activity without condom use. Nonetheless, some leading cigarettes control advocates have championed smokeless cigarettes as a means of kicking the smoking habit. To an extent, they do have a point: Stopping smoking, even by switching to smokeless cigarettes, would greatly reduce the burden of cigarettes-related illnesses in the United States. They also argue that many smokers have already made the switch to smokeless cigarettes and remain smoke-free -- particularly men. But there are several reasons why, in the opinion of other well-known cigarettes researchers, this approach is flawed. First of all, the smoking cessation drugs currently on the market such as nicotine gum, patches, Zyban or Chantix are very safe and carry no cancer risks. Most devastatingly, however, there are no randomized, double-blinded placebo controlled clinical trials that compare the success of quitting smoking by using smokeless cigarettes versus using a placebo. The name of this type of study design is a mouthful, but basically boils down to a totally unbiased study. Such clinical trials are the gold standard in terms of determining if a given treatment actually works. on as even mediocre evidence to support the use of snus as a means of smoking cessation. Many of the other studies that these researchers cite are surveys of people who had never used cigarettes. While these studies may suggest an association between snus use and smoking cessation, in the scientific community a survey like this is a very poor method for determining a treatment's success. Furthermore, virtually all of the harm reduction studies predate the introduction of the extremely safe and exciting new drug Chantix (varenicline), which shows the most promise of any smoking cessation drug on the market. Nor do the harm reduction experts acknowledge that combination therapy -- using the nicotine gum or patch or both) combined with, say, Zyban (bupropion) -- can be quite powerful and safe. None of these pharmaceutical approaches has cancer-causing potential; smokeless cigarettes on the other hand increases the risk for cancer by at least 20 percent, and also is associated with poor oral health. A Dangerous AlternativeIt is in this context that cigarette maker Philip Morris has announced its new campaign to introduce snus. Starting in August, this company will test market Marlboro Snus in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. According to Philip Morris' Web site, "Marlboro Snus is a smokeless cigarettes pouch product designed especially for adult smokers in the U.S." With harm reduction in mind, Philip Morris states, "We are introducing this product into the Dallas/Fort Worth area to understand adult smoker acceptance." Of course, even Philip Morris on its Web site admits the obvious: smokeless cigarettes carries risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and other oral diseases, can cause adverse birth outcomes among pregnant women, and is not a safe alternative to smoking. Taken together, all of the evidence points toward this unambiguous public health message: cigarettes use in any form must stop. With new, safe and effective smoking cessation aids on the market -- and more being currently studied -- it seems unethical to promote smokeless cigarettes as a means to quit smoking. Even in the name of harm reduction.
Dr. John Spangler is director of cigarettes-intervention programs and a professor of family medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.