THE Chancellor got his sums wrong on cigarette duty yesterday and had to be corrected. Duty on a packet of 20 cigarettes would go up by the annual inflation rise of 8p for public health reasons, Gordon Brown said.

Wrong, said Customs and Excise, the rate would go up by 9p. Mr Brown had forgotten the VAT.

The slip was described by the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association, as an unfortunate mix-up. Tim Lord, chief executive, said he hoped that it was not “a smokescreen to make the increase in cigarette tax (look) lower than it really is”.

Mr Lord said: “Whatever the reason, any increase is bad news for smokers and will push even more of them into shopping abroad or buying from smugglers and counterfeiters.”

Retailers Against Smuggling were also angry about the rise because almost a fifth of all cigarettes smoked in the UK are now smuggled in.

Audrey Wales, for the group, said: “Yet again, the Chancellor has ignored the effect that his high tobacco tax policy has on retailers. It is forcing us out of business as the criminal activity of tobacco smuggling eats into the sales of the corner stores.”

The average cost of a pack of 20 cigarettes in the UK will rise from £4.65 to £4.74. A similar pack is just £1.30 in Spain and the average price on the Continent is £2.35. Travellers can import 3,200 cigarettes or 3kg of handrolling tobacco for personal use, and the tobacco industry and retailers say this latest tax rise will encourage more cross-border shopping.

Health campaigners criticised the rise as too low. Deborah Arnott, of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “Such a small increase in tax is unlikely to provide the incentive smokers need to help them to quit. Sadly, this means more needless, totally preventable heart disease and cancer cases and thousands of premature deaths.”

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