The Average Price of Cigarettes in the UK

Compared to October 2022, when the average price was £12.72, the average price of a packet of cigarettes in the UK has increased by 14.61% in just one year.

According to official government data, the average price of the same packet of cigarettes in February 1987 (the earliest data point) was more than ten times lower, or £1.43. Expressed as a percentage, that’s a 920.28% increase in the span of over 36 years.

The data suggests that the average price of a king size pack of cigarettes in the UK has been steadily increasing for the past 20 years, with a rate of £0.515 per year.

Moreover, between October 2003 and October 2004, and October 2004 and October 2005, the average price of a packet of cigarettes has increased by only £0.16, which is the lowest yearly increase in the past two decades.

On the other hand, between October 2022 and October 2023, the average price of cigarettes in the UK increased by £1.87, which is the highest yearly increase to date.

In the table below, you can see the average price of a packet of king size filter cigarettes, each year since October 2003.

A recent study on cigarette sales in convenience and independent grocery stores reveals that Benson & Hedges was the best-selling cigarette brand in the UK, making £1.113 billion in sales between March 2022 and March 2023.

Here are the remaining nine of the top 10 best-selling brands:

• John Player & Sons – £781.9 million

• Lambert & Butler – £664.3 million

• Sterling – £567.9 million

• Sovereign – £340.3 million

• Marlboro – £329.7 million

• Richmond – £217.2 million

• Mayfair – £198.7 million

• Carlton – £194.3 million

• Rothmans – £188.3 million

Broken down into a per cigarette price, one single Silk Cut cigarette is around £0.82.

Next in line is Marlboro, with an average price of £13.64 per a king size pack, while its per cigarette price is £0.68. A king size pack of Benson and Hedges costs £13.22, or £0.66 per cigarette, and a pack of king size Rothmans is £13.04 (£0.65 per cigarette).

Furthermore, the brand Sterling sells its king size cigarettes at an average price of £12.68 per pack (£0.63 per cigarette), Embassy sells it for £12.49 (£0.62), Mayfair’s average price is £12.20 (£0.61), and Lambert & Butler’s prices averages at £12.17 (£0.61).

The cheapest cigarettes in the UK are sold by Richmond, at an average price of £10.85 per a king size pack, or £0.54 for one cigarette.

While the cigarette prices in the UK are influenced by various factors, taxation has the biggest impact. Namely, on top of the standard 20% VAT, UK consumers pay an additional 16.5% tobacco duty plus a flat charge of £6.33 on every packet of 20 cigarettes.

There are six types of Benson & Hedges king size cigarette packs, and their prices range between £11.85 and £15.86. Additionally, there are three types of super king size packs, all of which cost £11.85 per packet, or £0.59 per cigarette. Finally, there are three types of 5x20 multipacks, two of which cost £59, and one which costs £79.50.

Of the king size packs, the 20 B and H Blue, and Sky Blue packets are the least expensive at £11.85, while the 20 B and H Gold pack is the most expensive at £15.86.

You can see more details in the tables below:

The most expensive of the Sterling King size is the Dual pack, which costs £12.75 per packet, or £0.64 per cigarette, while the Sterling Blue and Sterling Original Red are slightly cheaper at £12.65 per packet, or £0.63 per cigarette.

Moreover, Sterling also has three Superking size packets, all of which cost £12.65, and a double-wrapped Sterling Dual, which is a packet with 10 cigarettes that costs £60. This pack has the lowest price per cigarette at £0.60.

You can find more details about the Sterling cigarette pack price in the tables below:

Marlboro Touch is the least expensive of the Marlboro King size series, with a price of £12.25 per packet, or £0.61 per cigarette. Marlboro Gold, Red, and Silver Blue are slightly more expensive at £0.70 per cigarette, or £14.10 per packet.

Additionally, Marlboro Gold has a Superking size series priced slightly higher than its King size counterpart at £14.15 for a pack, or £0.71 per cigarette.

Finally, the data reveals that the average cigarette price of the king size Marlboro series is £13.64 for a packet. For a more detailed view of the Marlboro prices in the UK, check out the tables below:

There are five different types of king sized Lambert & Butler cigarettes, and the prices for each of their packets is either £11.85 or £12.65. Broken down into per cigarette price, these figures translate to £0.59 or £0.63, making L&B one of the less expensive brands in the UK.

What’s more, the super king size series of the brand is also priced at £11.85, while the 5x20 multipack with 100 cigarettes costs £63.

If you need more detail about the pricing of each L&B box of cigarettes individually, refer to the tables below:

The most expensive of the series is the Richmond Original king size packet, which is £11.60. This is still an inexpensive price compared to other brands of cigarettes available in the UK.

However, the Richmond Original Soft and the Richmond Compact packs are even cheaper at £10.45 and £10.50, respectively. Their per cigarette price adds up to about £0.52.

The super king sized packets of Richmond cigarettes are the same price as the Richmond Original king size, at £11.60. And the 5x20 multipacks are £57.75, or £0.58 per cigarette, just like the Original packet.

These prices show that the Richmond brand offers the cheapest cigarettes in the UK, regardless of which series you go for.

Check out the tables below for a more detailed view:

The brand Mayfair has a variety of King size cigarette packs, including the Gold and Silver, both of which are priced at £10.99 or £0.55 per cigarette, and the Original Blue, Green, and White flavours, priced at £13.00, or £0.65 per cigarette.

Furthermore, these prices are also carried over to the super king size series, where the Mayfair Gold and Silver are £10.99 for a pack, while the Mayfair Original and Sky Blye are £13.00.

Considering that the average price of a Mayfair packet is lower than the average price of 20 cigarettes in the UK, Mayfair is considered a relatively inexpensive brand of cigarettes.

You can find more details about the individual packs in the tables below:

Apart from the Embassy Red, which is priced at £15.15, all of the other flavours of the King size series of the Embassy brand of cigarettes are priced at £11.60, or under the national average.

The average price of a King sized packet of Embassy cigarettes adds up to around £12.49, while the Superking size series are significantly less expensive, at £10.90.

Refer to the tables below for more detailed information about the cost of smoking cigarettes from the brand Embassy:

With a price of £16.35 per pack, Silk Cut is the brand that sells the most expensive cigarettes in the UK. There is no variety in the brand’s pricing, and all of the packs from all series, king size, and super king size, are priced at £16.35.

The tables below hold more detailed information:

Only the Rothmans Original are sold at £15.15, while the Rothmans Silver and Blue are sold at a considerably lower price of £11.85. Additionally, the brand also sells a 24-cigarette king size packet at a price of £13.30. This packaging has the lowest per cigarette price at £0.55.

As for the Superking series, Rothmans Blue is sold at the same price as its king size counterpart, at £11.85 per pack.

If you need more detailed information about each individual Rothmans cigarette pack price, check out the tables below: