In his recently announced 2008 national budget, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel again raised the price of cigarettes, local media reports.

The excise tax on cigarettes went up 66 cents (EUR 0.06) to ZAR 6.82 on a pack of 20 cigarettes – an increase of 10.8 per cent; pipe tobacco went up 12 cents (5.3 per cent) to ZAR 2.30 on 25 grams; cigarette tobacco 43 cents (5.2 per cent) to ZAR 8.67 on 50 grams; and cigars ZAR 1.99 (5.3 per cent) to ZAR 39.72 on 23 grams.
Voicing concern at the measure, the Tobacco Institute of South Africa (Tisa) said the increases would stimulate illegal consumption. Annual increases in the excise duties on tobacco products encouraged people to buy cheap, illegal products on which no taxes were paid, Tisa said. As a resulting in government losses of ZAR 1.4 billion a year. (pi)