The Chancellor Rachel Reeves of the Labour government has made the 2024 budget announcement in the House of Commons. The Chancellor said that the present hike on the tax of tobacco of the rate of inflation plus 2% will be maintained throughout the next fiscal year.
Rachel Reeves announced that tax on hand-rolled tobacco pouches will go up by 10%, that tax on factory-made cigarettes will rise by an unspecified yet one-off constant value, to dissuade from smoking, and that vapes are being taxed with duty tax as of 2026.
Meanwhile and unlike the tobacco tax, taxes on alcohol have been reduced under the cheers of most members of parliament while taxes on fuel have remained constant.
The previous Conservative government would have maintained the tax on tobacco until October 2026 without any rises and imposed today’s one-off increase after that time with the next budget after the next. And it would have been within the range of £2 and £2.50 being imposed after October 2026. This is what has been laid down in the spring statement under the previous government.
Bring Back Smoking Freedom 