Attention to all smokers out there! We have some super bad news for you: Cigarette prices go up by more than 40% effective today. Buying cigarettes will burn a hole in your wallet, pun intended!
Cigarettes under the British American Tobacco (BAT) will have price hikes, which can go as high as RM18. This was announced by BAT Malaysia on Tuesday night. To name a few brands that will be effected: Dunhill, Pall Mall, Kent & Benson Hedges.
Below are the new cigarette prices:
Shuang Xi – RM18 per pack
Lucky Strike Plain – RM 17.50 per pack
Dunhill (all ranges) – RM17.50 per pack
Benson & Hedges – RM17 per pack
Kent – RM17 per pack
Pall Mall – RM 15.50
Peter Stuyvesant – RM15.50
“The legal tobacco market has declined by 10% on a September year-to-date basis. This extreme hike in cigarette excise done against the backdrop of both weakened economy and consumer sentiments will definitely fuel further an already high level of illegal cigarettes, where one in three packs is illegal. We cannot imagine the impact that this more than 40% increase in excise will have on the industry.”
BAT Malaysia managing director Stefano Clini also said that this will only encourage the selling of illegal cigarettes. It has been surveyed that for every three packs, one is illegal.
Perhaps it’s time to give up this habit entirely?