Cost of cigarettes and alcohol to increase tonight

Cigarette smokers face a jump of up to 50 pence on a packet of 20 from 6pm today despite the Chancellor sticking to Labour’s previously announced plans to raise tobacco duty by 2 per cent above inflation, the tobacco industry said. The price of a pint of beer is also set to rise by up to 10p, with campaigner warning more pubs will close and thousands of jobs lost after the Government pressed ahead with planned alcohol tax rises. ... read more >>