Budget 2021: How much have cigarettes gone up by?
Smokers will feel the burn in their wallets.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled his £150 billion Autumn Budget yesterday.
It’s only natural to wonder how much worse or better off you’ll be, particularly as inflation’s on the rise.
Mortgage repayments could skyrocket, and the Universal Credit uplift is now tied to the amount of work recipients do – giving them 8p more for every pound they earn.
The NHS will get a £5.9 billion cash influx to help deal with the backlog of appointments and surgeries caused by Covid – while the cost of a pint at the pub could be slashed by a few pennies.
One group definitely left worse-off by the Budget? Smokers, as the price of tobacco faces a hefty tax increase.
So, what’s the damage? Here’s what you should know.
How much are cigarettes going to cost now?
From 6pm yesterday (October 27) onwards, the price of 20-pack cigarettes has gone up by 6.9%.
Those who smoke the cheapest brands will feel that almost 7% rise as a 63p uplift. So, a packet of cigarettes that would usually set you back £9.10 will now cost £9.73.
More expensive brands, however, will go up as much as 88p – with a £12.73 pack now costing £13.60.
The price of loose tobacco – which users turn into their own handmade cigarettes – has gone up too.
You can now expect to add 89p to a standard 30g bag – from £8.14 to £9.02
These figures include normal inflation, known as Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation, as well as an extra tax.
The RPI inflation is currently at 4.9%, meaning an extra 6% was added to loose tobacco, while 2% has been added to cigarettes.
Due to continued price hikes above inflation, the cost of a pack of smokes has doubled in just a decade.
The aim is not only for the Government to collect extra tax – but also to get smokers to quit.
However, the director of smokers’ group Forest, Simon Clark, accused the Government of ‘weaponising’ tax against smokers.
He said: ‘The majority of smokers come from poorer backgrounds.
‘Many have suffered financially as result of the pandemic and should not have to face yet another increase in the cost of tobacco at a time when they can least afford it.’
According to the NHS, around 78,000 people in the UK die of smoking every year – with many others facing chronic smoking-related illnesses.
A recent University of Glasgow study, published in February 2021, estimated that obesity contributed to more deaths than smoking.
MORE : Will you lose money? Our calculator reveals the true cost of Rishi Sunak’s Budget
MORE : Budget 2021: How will Rishi’s sparkling wine tax changes affect you?
Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Share your views in the comments below
Autumn Budget 2021: All the key points from Rishi Sunak's plan
Rishi Sunak has announced the largest increase in public spending in a century in a budget that has promised ‘the start of a new post-Covid economy’.
Many of the headline policies include a rise in the national living wage and a pledge to spend billions on the NHS.
Here are the main changes you need to know about:
- Will you be worse off or better off? Our Budget calculator reveals the true cost
- Universal Credit raised for 1,700,000 people with 8p boost to pay packet
- Developers will pay £5,000,000,000 tax to fix homes with dangerous cladding
- Fuel duty will not increase as prices at the pumps hit record high
- Millions of key workers set to be paid more as Rishi Sunak confirms end to pay freeze
- National living wage rises to £9.50 an hour
- Pints of beer cut by 3p and sparkling wine is about to become cheaper
- Prepare for a pricey Christmas as inflation ‘likely to rise’