The joys of receiving change from a £5 note for a pack of 20 cigarettes.

Those days are long gone, and prices are only getting higher.

New laws announced in the Spring 2017 Budget detailed how the price of your cigarette is set to cost even more as of May 20 this year.

A whopping 17.2% of the UK adult population were still smokers in 2016 and for them it is a huge expense.

So with prices set to take another hike, just how has the cost of a pack of cigarettes changed over the years?

Increase in cigarette prices

Tobacco duty is an excise duty paid on tobacco-based products , set by HM Revenue and Customs.

The fee is included in the price you pay for cigarettes, on top of the standard VAT rate of 20% on tobacco products.

A 'minimum excise tax' is being introduced on cigarette packs

The price you pay, however differs depending on what tobacco product you choose to buy.

For example, on a pack of 20 cigarettes you will pay a Tobacco Duty of 16.5% of the retail price plus £4.16.

The tobacco duty will cost you £2.59 on a 10g cigar, £5.24 on a 25g packet of hand rolling tobacco and on other smoking tobacco and chewing tobacco you will pay £2.85 on a 25g packet.

In terms of price difference in cigarettes over the past year, from March 16 2016, the excise duty was 16.5% of retail price plus £196.42 per 1,000 cigarettes, this compares to an increase of £11.57 to £207.99 per 1,000 cigarettes from March 8 2017.

So for individuals buying a pack of 20 cigarettes, that is an extra 35p to pay.

Over the past 20 years, the tobacco duty has seen a steady increase, with a notable jump from 2010 to 2011, where the 2010 £119.03 Tobacco Duty on 1,000 cigarettes jumped up to £154.95 in 2011.

There has been an increase of £135.93 in the excise duty paid on 1,000 cigarettes from 1997 to 2017.

In 1997, the tobacco duty on 1,000 cigarettes was £72.06, now it is £207.99, which is almost three times more.

Back in 1997, a pack of 20 would have cost you much less than £5!

This is how HM Revenue and Customs tobacco duty rates have increased in the past 20 years.

Year

Tobacco duty in £ on 1,000 cigarettes

1997

72.06

1998

77.09

1999

82.59

2000

90.43

2001

92.25

2002

94.24

2003

96.88

2004

99.80

2005

102.39

2006

105.10

2007

108.65

2008

112.07

2009

114.31

2010

119.03

2011

154.95

2012

167.41

2013

176.22

2014

184.10

2015

189.49

2016

196.42

2017

207.99

Prices are set to increase further

The new law is in a bid to reduce the number of people smoking and to deter young people.

You should expect to see your pack of 20 rise in price as of May 20, following the announcement in the Budget to introduce a 'minimum excise tax' on cigarette packs but not on other forms of tobacco.

So rather than the current excise duty of £207.99 per 1,000 cigarettes, as of May 20 it will be £268.63 per 1,000 cigarettes.

According to www.moneysavingexpert.com , based on paying a retail price of £7.35 for a pack of 20 cigarettes, the minimum excise duty will be £5.37, which is £1.21 more than you will currently pay in tobacco duty.

How much is a packet of cigarettes today?

Currently, a pack of 20 Embassy cigarettes will cost you £10.41 from TESCO, whilst a pack of 20 Marlboro cigarettes from Morrisons costs £9.99 and from Sainsbury's it will cost you £7.64 for a pack of 20 Lambert & Butler cigarettes, according to price comparison website, mySupermarket.

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