Beer might be getting cheaper but cigs aren't
Bad news for smokers as cigarettes as the price of cigarettes is set to go up from 6pm this evening.
As per the Mirror, the increase in price is part of the
Chancellor's new budget announced earlier today, with the cost of any and all tobacco products rising across the board.
Duty rates on pre-rolled cigarettes will increase by the rate of RPI (retail price index) inflation plus two per cent, whereas the increase on rollies will see an additional six per cent bump.
The current RPI is 4.9%, meaning cigarettes will go up by 6.9% and rolling tobacco by a sizeable 10.9%. To put in pounds and pennies: top-end packs of 20 cigarettes will rise from £13.50 to £14.43, while the cheapest 20-deck will go from £8.80 to £9.41.
As for a 30g bag of tobacco, prior to this evening, it would have cost you around £8.14: after 6pm it will now be sitting at approximately £9.02. This hike in price comes after tobacco duty was left out of the spring budget back in March, although prices were raised twice in 2020.
Inflation aside, this increase is also part of the government scheme which aims to make the
UK smoke-free by 2030, with cross-party groups having already campaigned for the
legal smoking age to be raised to 21.
Meanwhile, although the cost of smoking is going up in accordance with this long-term initiative, British drinking culture doesn't look to be taking any kind of hit as the duty on barrels of draught beer and ciders are set to be reduced by five per cent. Pick your poison, I guess?
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