Cigarettes, alcohol, vapes going up: UK Budget changes
UK Chancellor John Healey confirmed an alcohol-duty increase in the 2026 Budget, with higher rates taking effect on February 1, 2027. The rise adds roughly 2p…
UK Chancellor John Healey confirmed an alcohol-duty increase in the 2026 Budget, adding roughly 2p in tax to a typical pint of beer. The rise takes effect on February 1, 2027; tobacco and vaping duty changes had already started on October 1.
The new alcohol rates follow inflation. The Sun reported that duty will increase in line with the Retail Prices Index, which stood at 3.9% in September, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
What the Budget means for drink prices
The 3.9% increase takes duty on a typical pint from around 50p to 52p. A bottle of wine will face an additional 10p to 12p in duty, depending on its strength, while a standard 70cl bottle of 37.5% ABV gin will carry roughly 35p more.
Those amounts describe the tax increase, not a required change to shop or pub prices. Businesses set their own prices and decide whether to pass on some or all of the extra duty. VAT, production costs and other expenses also affect what customers pay.
The timing matters for pubs and drinkers. Current alcohol-duty rates remain in place through January 2027, leaving the increase to take effect on February 1. Industry groups had lobbied for a freeze, warning that another rise would add pressure on venues and their customers.
Cigarettes and vapes already face new duties
The Budget did not add a separate tobacco-duty increase. Tobacco rates had already risen on October 1 under plans announced in earlier Budgets. HMRC estimated that change would add £1.21 in duty to a pack of 20 cigarettes and £2.54 to a 30g pouch of rolling tobacco.
The increase combined the government’s annual tobacco duty escalator, set at inflation plus two percentage points, with an additional one-off rise. The annual increase was brought forward to October to coincide with the introduction of a duty on vaping products.
Vaping Products Duty also took effect on October 1. It applies to e-liquids manufactured in or imported into the UK, whether or not they contain nicotine, at £2.20 per 10ml. That equals 44p for a 2ml pod and £2.20 for a 10ml refill bottle.
Manufacturers and importers pay the vaping duty, but retailers could pass some or all of the cost on to shoppers. The tax was already in force when Healey delivered the Budget; it was not a new measure announced for a later start.
For household budgets, the changes do not translate automatically into matching shelf-price increases. The direct tax amounts are set, while the final price depends on decisions by pubs, shops and other businesses. The next scheduled change in these measures is the alcohol-duty increase on February 1, 2027.
Source: thesun.co.uk
