Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) has launched an ongoing series of Budget Briefing Notes exploring the potential health and economic consequences of tobacco and alcohol tax changes, beginning with the Autumn 2024 Budget.

Following a recent project that aimed to provide evidence and tools to asses the potential impact of tobacco and alcohol taxation on public health and health inequalities in the UK, SARG researchers are now using modelling developed in the project to estimate the potential health and economic effects of changes to tobacco and alcohol tax announced in the UK Government Budget.

We plan to release regular briefings in response to future UK Budgets, offering timely analysis of the potential implications of tobacco and alcohol tax adjustments.

Download the first Budget Briefing Note, published following the Budget of 30 October 2024:

Morris D, Gillespie D, Angus C, Chen R, Brennan A (2024) Modelling of the health and economic impacts of alcohol and tobacco tax policy in England: Autumn Budget 2024. An analysis using the Sheffield Tobacco and Alcohol Policy Model University of Sheffield. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15131/shef.data.27678243

The analysis uses the Sheffield Tobacco and Alcohol Policy Model (STAPM), a sophisticated policy appraisal tool which jointly models trends and dynamics in alcohol and tobacco consumption, and associated health and economic outcomes. The model estimates the impact of tax and price policy changes on these outcomes.