Budget 2020 – Cost of cigarettes to go up to £12.73 a pack from 6pm tonight as Chancellor hikes tobacco tax

SMOKERS will pay an extra 27p for a pack of 20 cigarettes from tonight after the Chancellor announced he's hiking the tobacco tax in today's Budget.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak today revealed he's hiking it by an extra 2 per cent above the current inflation rate of 1.8 per cent.

Mr Sunak didn't actually mention it during the Budget speech, but it was hidden in government documents outlining all announcements.

The average pack of the most expensive cigarettes in the UK's big four supermarkets currently costs £12.46, meaning it'll increase to £12.73.

While the average pack of the cheapest 20-pack of fags will rise from roughly £8.82 to £9.10.

The tax of hand-rolled tobacco will rise by another 6 per cent above the rate of inflation, adding 67p to the price of a 30g pack, according to government figures.

This means the most expensive average packs will now cost £15.60 in the major supermarkets, compared to the cheapest at £12.47.

The hikes will come into effect after 6pm tonight, so it could be worth going to the shops now to save cash.

It is the latest move by the government in a sustained war on smoking which has included tax hikes, a ban on logos on packaging and outlawing 10-packs of cigarettes.

In 2018's Autumn Budget, former Chancellor Philip Hammond hiked tobacco duty two per cent above the rate of inflation, adding 24p to the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes.

The move comes after campaigners Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) this week urged Mr Runak to reduce the affordability of tobacco products.

It said the Chancellor should bring back the tax escalator and introduce a levy on tobacco companies to raise £300million to help more smokers quit.

As the tax hike was announced, ASH said it was pleased about the move but added that it doesn't go far enough.

Chief executive Deborah Arnott said: "Despite successive years of tax increases, the past failure to close the gap in tax on handrolled tobacco has kept smokers smoking who might otherwise quit.

"Thousands of smokers have switched to cheaper hand rolled tobacco in recent years.

"We welcome the Government’s efforts to address this, but it must go beyond a single year."

But Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest, told the The Sun the changes will impoverish hard-up smokers and push them towards buying illegal cigarettes.

He said: "This is another kick in the teeth for poorer smokers in particular.

"If the Conservatives want to keep their ‘red wall’ seats they need to show a lot more empathy for ordinary working people, including the millions of adults who enjoy smoking.

"Further increases in tobacco duty discriminate against those who are less well off.

"In addition to forcing some smokers further into poverty, it will encourage illicit trade which puts smokers at even greater risk from counterfeit tobacco."

"The Chancellor had an opportunity to stand up for consumers who are willing to pay their fair share of tax but object to being punished for a habit that already earns the Treasury over £10billion a year. Sadly he flunked it."

In the 2017 Budget, Philip Hammond whacked on an extra 28p to a pack of 20 cigarettes putting the average price at £10.80.

That meant a 20-a-day smoker keeping up their habit saw themselves an extra £178.85 out of pocket over the course of a year.

Packets of ten cigarettes have been banned since May 2017.

In good news for motorists and drinkers, today's Budget also included freezes in fuel and alcohol duties.

Plus, Mr Sunak confirmed a National Insurance tax cut saving hardworking Brits £100 a year.

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