Government confirms biggest ever price rise on cigarettes from 6pm tonight

The government has announced the biggest ever price rise on cigarettes, and it looks set to affect smokers a lot sooner than you think.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is delivering his first Spring Budget today, which he hopes will kickstart the UK's stalling economy.

Many people think that it will be an uphill task, especially due to the cost of living crisis that continues impact millions every day.

Childcare and energy bill help are on the way for many following the Budget, but we will see some price hikes, too.

But the price increases are very real, with the Chancellor confirming that the price of wine and spirits will rise from August.

And it is bad news for smokers, as the Chancellor is bringing in a massive increase to tobacco tax, which will be the biggest price hike ever.

Paolo Galasso/ Alamy Stock Photo

Not only that, but smokers will see the price of a pack of cigarettes rise from 6pm UK time today (15 March).

The tax on cigarettes will rise with inflation at the Budget, with the price going up by 12.7 percent RPI.

On top of that, you need to add an extra minimum two percent bump that is applied to all tobacco products, and then you are looking at a massive 15 percent increase.

So, what will this mean for the actual price you pay at the tills for cigarettes?

Well, a pack of 20 will go up by £1.15 from later today. While that may not sound like too much, if you go through a pack a day, that's an extra £8.05 spent a week, and close to a staggering £420 a year extra on cigarettes.

For hand-rolled cigarettes, a 30g pack will increase by £2 in line with the rate of inflation to £14.09.

The last increase in cigarette prices came less than 18 months ago, with a big increase coming in October 2021 by then Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Back then, 88p was added to a pack of cigarettes - though that does seem quite a small increase compared to this latest Budget.

Kathy deWitt/ Alamy Stock Photo

So why are cigarettes seeing such a massive price increase with the Spring Budget?

Taxing tobacco actually raises massive amounts of money for the government each year. In 2022, a massive £10.7 billion was collected through it, amassing to 1.2 percent of the government's total tax take.

The tax is laid on the companies who make or import cigarettes in the UK, which is laid on to the customers in the shops.

While it may bring in billions of taxes every year, ministers are hoping to make the UK 'smoke free' by 2030.