Cigarette sales in decline after pack and tax reform

Smokers in the UK puffed 20million fewer cigarettes a month after plain packets and a tax hike, according to a new study.

The 2017 ban on branded packs, as well as a new “minimum excise” tax, caused the decline of cigarette sales to accelerate from 12million per month to 20million, say researchers from the University of Bath. Revenue across the tobacco industry fell by 13 per cent.

The team behind the new study, published today in the BMJ journal Tobacco Control, hope their work will show policymakers around the world how effective plain packets can be for cutting cigarette sales.