The most recent increase in cigarette overpricing which took effect in the new year 2026 has negatively influenced the inflation rate and brought it up to 3.4% in combination with flight travel fares, taking it above the 2.9% and 3% target that it had from the previous and the present government respectively.
Responding to the October Budget 2025 and the rise in tobacco tax and prices which happened according to the formula of following inflation plus 2%, increasing the retail price of the cheapest packet from £12.50p to £13.10p, chairman of the smokers’ rights group FOREST said that:
Punitive duty on tobacco discriminates against all law-abiding consumers, but the hardest hit are those from poorer backgrounds. It also fuels illicit trade, costing the Treasury billions of pounds in lost revenue. Faced with yet another tax hike, many of Britain’s 4.9 million smokers may be persuaded to vote for Reform, which is currently the only party that isn’t determined to punish them for their habit. Applying what is effectively a sin tax on vaping will not only create a black market, it could discourage many smokers from switching to a significantly reduced risk product.
Bring Back Smoking Freedom 