On October 29th the autumn budget was announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond, this will be the last budget before the UK leaves the UK in March next year.
The new budget has meant bad news for cigarette smokers, but it could be beneficial to the vaping industry as it may prove to be the final push that some people need to make the switch from smoking to vaping.
What Does the New Budget Mean for Smokers?
The new budget has brought in yet more tax increases on tobacco products, and the changes were put into action only 90 minutes after the end of Chancellor Hammond’s speech.
For packets of cigarettes the increase is inflation plus 2% which adds up to an average price increase of 33p per 20 pack.
The increase is even heavier on rolling tobacco, which has been given an increase of inflation plus 1%, averaging to a 48p increase on a 30g pack of tobacco.
These changes bring the average price of a 20 pack of cigarettes to over £10 per pack.
How Is This Tax Increase Beneficial?
A suggested tax increase to e-cigarettes and related products was rejected by MPs, therefore there has been no tax increase on e-cigarettes and e-liquids.
In a recent blog post, ‘Evapo Responds to the Propose Vape Tax’, we suggested that increasing the tax on cigarettes would be more beneficial to the public than introducing a vape tax, and we are very happy to hear that the new budget has reflected our opinions and values in this matter.
One of the reasons that this could be so beneficial to the public is that this latest tax increase on tobacco products could prove to be, for some people, the last push they need to switch from smoking to vaping.
With the price of smoking ever increasing, not only is vaping the safer and healthier option, but it is also for most people the less expensive option.
Not only can making this switch greatly improve the quality of life and health of individuals, but it can also help relieve some of the strain that smoking related disease and illness has been putting on the NHS. Smoke related diseases account for 1 in 4 of all NHS patients, and is the biggest cause of preventable death in the UK.
The NHS has estimated that every smoker who switches to vaping saves our national health service £85k, when you consider that millions of people in the UK have quit smoking with the use of e-cigarettes there is really no question as to whether the right decision was made.
The Tax on Heat Not Burn
A result of the new budget that we were less happy to hear about is the new tax that will be added to heat not burn devises in July next year.
There has now been a new category created for heat not burn tobacco, which will be taxed by the same amount as rolling tobacco.
While the new category does identify that there is a difference between regular tobacco and tobacco for heating, the tax increase could still discourage people from trying heat not burn products as a safer alternative to smoking.
For some people vaping e-liquids does not feel enough like smoking for them to comfortably make the switch, heat not burn tobacco products have since filled this void by introducing devices that heat tobacco to the temperate at which a vapour is formed, but there is no burning of the tobacco.
This means that many of the toxins and carcinogens that are released upon combustion are never released, making it a less damaging way to use tobacco.
Nonetheless, we are very pleased that as a company we can in some small way help the government realise their goal for a smoke free society, and to help ease the burden that smoking can cause the NHS.
If you are interested making the switch from smoking to e-cigarettes, why not pop in to your local Evapo store and speak to a member of staff. Alternatively, to shop our full range head over to our website and for information, reviews and advice check out our blog.
