Smokers face crippling hike in cigarette prices after Spring Budget

The price of a pack of 20 cigarettes is set to rise to more than £14 after Jeremy Hunt confirmed the tobacco tax would rise with inflation.

The hike in tax on cigarettes comes as the Government tries to make the UK smoke free by 2030. It is going up by 12.7 percent RPI – along with an additional two percent – meaning a 15 percent increase.

The Retail Price Index (RPI) is a measurement of inflation used to calculate cost of living and wage escalation. This increase means that anyone forking out for a pack of 20 cigarettes will have to pay an extra £1.15.

Anyone who favours rolling their own is set to have to pay £2 more for a 30g pack of tobacco.

Today’s announcement is the first time cigarette prices have been increased since October 2021. Back then, the price of the most expensive pack went up by 88p, from £12.73 to just over £13.60.

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