In his autumn statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the price of hand-rolling tobacco will rise by over GBP 2 and the cost of a pack of cigarettes will go up by GBP 0.66 as of 22 November, reports the Daily Mail.  

The Chancellor’s latest financial package will hugely increase the duty on hand-rolling tobacco making it rise by an additional 10 per cent above the tobacco duty escalator meaning an extra GBP 2.21 being added on to the price of a 30g packet. Traditional cigarettes will also see a price increase of GBP 0.66 per pack of 20 while the price of a pack of 10 cigars will go up by GBP 0.33.
According to the Daily Mail, the tobacco duty escalator increases duty at the RPI rate of inflation +2 per cent. While the RPI rate of inflation was 6.1 per cent last month, the new prices on hand-rolling tobacco will reflect a hike of plus 12 per cent.
It is thought that the move is part of the Government’s aim to close the gap between hand-rolling tobacco and traditional cigarettes and will bring in an extra GBP 40 million for the Treasury next year.
The Chancellor had already raised the cost of hand-rolling tobacco by 16.1 per cent and traditional cigarettes by 14.7 per cent earlier in the year, reports the Daily Mail.
Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest, was dismayed at the move saying, “The Chancellor has just raised two fingers to working class people across the country.
“Raising duty on hand-rolled tobacco by such a punitive amount is going to push more smokers further into poverty or into the hands of illegal traders including criminal gangs.
“This is a clear attack on smokers from poorer backgrounds, many of whom use hand-rolled tobacco because until now it’s been cheaper than buying manufactured cigarettes.”