£260million up in smoke

TAXPAYERS are forking out millions of pounds to help the TOBACCO industry.

Barmy Eurocrats are handing over a whopping £260million to growers in 11 countries.

They're pleading poverty as powerful cigarette companies have been able to drive down prices. But SNP MEP Alyn Smith blasted: "This money could fund a world-class cancer research centre every year - instead it's paying for an industry that KILLS people. We can't protect the tobacco industry at the expense of lives."

Smith, above, has launched a petition against the subsidies on www.alynsmith.eu and urged new EU health commissioner John Dalli to join his campaign.

Across Europe, a million people each year die from tobacco-related illnesses. The largest European crops are grown in Italy, Spain, Poland and Bulgaria. MEPs from those nations say their product is "healthier" than tobacco from elsewhere.

But Smith may have a fight on his hands. Last month Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borisov vowed: "We will do our best to help this important sector so that it gets sufficient EU funding."

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