UK
Under the chancellor’s new rules, beer, wine, and cider prices have been capped, however cigarette prices have risen almost immediately. Hidden in the small print of Budget 2020 is a rise by up to 6% across the board.
Duty rates on all tobacco products have increased by 2%, while the rate for hand-rolling tobacco will increase by 6% this year.
It will follow with a ban on menthol and flavored cigarettes from May this year as part of plans to curb social smoking. Menthol cigarettes will be made illegal from UK stores, along with skinny cigarettes and flavored rolling tobacco, from May 20, when the laws come into force.
The ban, stemming from new EU Tobacco Product Directive laws, is part of a bid to deter young people from taking up smoking by outlawing cigarettes with a ‘characterizing flavor’ other than tobacco. The plan to phase out flavored cigarettes completely follows a ban on packs of 10 in May 2017.