Cigarette prices rise under the Budget Plan – find out how much you pay

The cost of a pack of cigarettes could rise to £16 according to next week’s budget.

The Treasury Department is eyeing a dramatic increase in tobacco taxes to ensure a tax on vaping keeps smoking alternatives cheaper.

Last year Jeremy Hunt added £1.55 to a pack of 20 cigarettes – and a similar increase is being considered for March 6.

The average price of a pack of 20 cigarettes is currently £14.39, making Britain one of the most expensive places to smoke in Europe.

In France, cigarettes cost around £9 each, compared to £7 in the Netherlands and £6.50 in Germany.

The move is part of Rishi Sunak’s tough stance on smoking, with the Prime Minister personally known to be extremely anti-tobacco.

Last year at the party conference he unveiled plans to ban smoking for anyone born after 2009, by raising the legal age for buying cigarettes by one year every year.

And single-use vapes will be banned as part of stricter measures announced earlier this year.

Next one This month’s Budget is expected to impose a new vaping tax on imported e-cigarettes and manufacturers in a bid to make them unaffordable for children.

The excise tax will apply to the liquid in vapes, with higher levels for products with more nicotine.

Sources say the additional tax increase on cigarettes means vaping will still be the cheaper option for smokers.

The vapor tax is modeled after European regulations, such as Germany, which imposed a tax of €1.60 on every 10 ml of vaping liquid.

The two new levies will raise around half a billion pounds into struggling public coffers.

But tobacco companies today warned that the rising price of cigarettes is fueling illegal sales on the black market.

Sarah Connor of JTI UK said: “Unreasonable tobacco taxes are fueling the criminal sale of illicit tobacco, costing taxpayers money and driving up inflation.”

JTI research shows that a quarter of cigarettes and 38 percent of roll-your-own tobacco sold in Britain are tax-free.

Christopher Snowdon, head of Lifestyle Economics at free market think tank the Institute for Economic Affairs, said: “The government’s approach to vaping has become a disjointed mess.

“The company says it wants to restrict single-use vaping, yet it will tax refillable e-cigarette liquid. It’s giving away e-cigarettes for free with its Swap to Stop program, while making vaping less affordable for those willing to pay.

“The country says it wants to reduce the tax burden, but seems willing to tax smoking cessation.”

HMRC estimates that £9.3 billion in tax revenue has been lost due to the illegal sale of tobacco.