Singapore Budget 2018: Tobacco excise duty to increase by 10% from Feb 19

Smoke rises from a burning cigarette as a woman smokes on the street in Bordeaux
Picture for representation Reuters

Singapore Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, while announcing the Budget on Monday, said that the government will impose a 10 per cent increase in tobacco excise duty in a bid to discourage consumption. He added that the higher excise duty will be implemented across all tobacco products with effect from Monday.

The official website of Singapore Customs' showed that cigars, cheroots and cigarillos are now taxed at S$388 per kilo. But, the price will increase to S$427 from Monday.

According to the recent budget, the excise duties for cigarettes containing tobacco and cigarettes with tobacco substitutes will increase to almost 43 cents for every gram of each cigarette stick.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that a 10 per cent increase in the price of cigarettes results in a 4 percent decrease in demand in high income countries. While, the demand reduces by 5 percent in low and middle income countries.

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