Lower income households paid the most on alcohol and tobacco duties as a proportion of their disposable income

Figures out this morning from the Office of National Statistics give some interesting insights into the amounts we spend on alcohol and tobacco.

The research looks at the amounts we spend between 1995 and 2010.

It found that the richest fifth of households paid the most in alcohol duties in real terms across the 15 years though, lower income households paid the most as a proportion of their household disposable income for all periods from 1997/98 onwards.

In real terms, the average amount of alcohol duty paid per household remained relatively constant throughout this period.

Since 1995 the average amount of alcohol duty paid per household increased from £284 to £309 in 2010, expressed in 2010 prices. The average amount of alcohol duty paid by all households peaked in 2005 at £321, again, expressed in 2010 prices.

Duty on wine accounted for 30 per cent of average household expenditure on alcohol duties in 2009/10, compared with just 15 per cent in 1995/96.

Average real expenditure on tobacco duties declined for all households between 1995 and 2010, from £395 to £311 per year.

Average expenditure on tobacco duty as a proportion of household disposable income is highest for lower income households, though this proportion fell from 4.8 per cent to 3.0 per cent between 1995 and 2010