Cigarette prices up by as much as 40%

KUALA LUMPUR: The prices of cigarettes under the British American Tobacco (BAT) brand go up today, some as high as RM18, BAT Malaysia announced last night.

The cigarettes under the BAT Malaysia brand include Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall, to name a few.

Under the new prices, Shuang Xi will cost RM18 per pack, Lucky Strike Plain will cost RM17.50, the Dunhill range, Benson & Hedges and Kent will cost RM17 per pack whereas Pall Mall and Peter Stuyvesant will cost RM15.50.

In a statement, BAT Malaysia said the price hike was in response to an increase by the government on cigarette excise by more than 40%.

BAT expressed “extreme disappointment and shock” and claimed the increase in cigarette excise, effective yesterday, was “unprecedented”.

“The tobacco industry has already been hit by a huge 12% increase in cigarette excise just a year ago on Nov 1.

“This was followed by the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax at 6% beginning on April 1 this year,” said BAT Malaysia managing director Stefano Clini.

He said the price hike will definitely fuel further an already high level of illegal cigarettes, where one in three packs is illegal.