Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced he will hike tobacco duty in his Autumn Statement, in a blow for smokers.
He confirmed the Government would "increase duty on hand-rolling tobacco by an additional 10% above the tobacco duty escalator". The Chancellor also announced that all remaining tobacco products would face a 2% increase above inflation. All changes would take place from 6pm on Wednesday, November 22.
Anyone who makes or imports cigarettes, cigars, hand-rolling tobacco, or chewable tobacco will need to pay the tobacco duty. Manufacturers or importers might choose to hand these added costs down to consumers, but that's at their discretion.
The government said it was implementing the tax hike as it was an "established tool to reduce smoking prevalence and ensure that tobacco duties continue to contribute to government revenues".
The tax hike also follows a similar price rise in April this year. It was revealed that the price of a pack of cigarettes would rise by over 12%. Any duty rises are usually in line with inflation.
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At the time, the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes increased beyond the £14 mark. It was an increase of £1.54 per packet, while hand-rolled tobacco increased by 16%.
Smokers’ campaign group Forest's director Simon Clark, said the price rise would simply take customers to the black market. He said at the time: “Punishing smokers for their habit during a cost of living crisis is heartless and cruel. It discriminates against poorer smokers and will drive many more consumers to the black market.
“This is bad news for legitimate, law-abiding retailers, and bad news for the Treasury which could lose billions of pounds in revenue if more smokers buy their tobacco from illicit traders.”
The tobacco duty hike also follows a radical plan to phase out smoking in the UK. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak revealed plans to see the legal age to buy tobacco products increase year by year.
The plan meant that anybody aged 14 years old or younger would never legally be able to buy cigarettes. But, 15-year-olds will be able to buy tobacco for the remainder of their lives.
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