Budget 2026: Smokers to pay more for tobacco products as 20% tax hike kicks in on Feb 12
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Smokers will have to pay 20 per cent more for tobacco products from Feb 12.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
SINGAPORE – Cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products will now cost more, following a 20 per cent increase in tobacco excise duty that takes effect immediately.
The move is to discourage the consumption of such products, said Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech on Feb 12
Smokers will now have to fork out 58.9 cents per cigarette, up from the current 49.1 cents previously, said the Ministry of Finance.
This means that the price for a packet of Marlboro cigarettes could increase from about $15.60 to $17.74.
The increase in excise duty for all tobacco products is expected to generate about $150 million in additional revenue a year, the ministry added.
Figures from 2022 to 2024 show that the annual revenue collected from tobacco duties has exceeded $1 billion.
In a 2025 parliamentary response, Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow said that $1.11 billion was collected in 2024, $1.02 billion in 2023 and $1.11 billion in 2022.
The tobacco tax was last raised by 15 per cent in 2023, with the increase then expected to generate about $100 million in additional revenue per year.
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