How much will tobacco and cigarette prices go up by in 2023?
The price of cigarettes and tobacco is to rise following today’s Spring Budget.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced a range of measures in his Budget speech, including changes to Universal Credit, free childcare for children over the age of nine months, and a freeze on fuel duty.
There was also £200 million for fixing potholes, and the price of a pint won’t go up in pubs, as duty on draught products will be 11p lower than than in supermarkets, from August 1.
But what about cigarettes and tobacco in the cost of living crisis? How has the budget affected them?
Here’s what you need to know.
How much will tobacco prices go up?
Spring budget 2023: Key points
- Seven key takeaways from today’s Budget
- Energy price guarantee to remain at £2,500 for the next three months
- 30 hours of free childcare for every child over the age of 9 months
- Pension changes coming in 2023 – from payment rises to tax cuts
To get the latest from the budget announcement visit Metro.co.uk's Metro's Budget news hub.
Tobacco is set to rise by 18.7%.
It is going up line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) which stands at 12.7%, plus an additional 6%.
So from 6pm tonight, a 30g pack of hand-rolling tobacco will cost an extra £1.75, according to public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), which welcomes the rises.
However, ASH wanted the government to go further. Dr JR Branston, Associate Professor, University of Bath and the public health consortium SPECTRUM said: ‘Thousands of smokers have switched to cheaper hand rolled tobacco in recent years.
‘The Government needs to commit to an annual additional increase on hand rolled, until the tax on hand rolled tobacco is equivalent to that for factory made cigarettes.’
How much will cigarette prices go up?
Is enough being done to support people through the cost of living crisis? Have your say now
Cigarettes are due to rise by the Retail Price Index plus 2%, so a total of 14.7%.
This will add about 95p to a packet of 20 cigarettes.
In addition, the new Minimum Excise Tax will be £7.87 (up from £6.95) for a pack of 20 cigarettes.
ASH said: ‘Increasing the MET raises the price of the cheapest cigarettes and discourages smokers switching to cheaper brands instead of quitting smoking altogether. This effectively means the lowest price for a pack of 20 cigarettes will be £11.97 from 6pm today.’
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