Smokers can fly to Bulgaria and back – and still save £96 on cigarettes
Smokers can save almost £100 next month if they stop buying cigarettes at their local corner shop and instead take a flight to Bulgaria.
Such is the tax burden on smokers, it is now cheaper to fly to the Continent and back, taking advantage of cheaper prices and lower duties, than buying cigarettes in Britain.
A return flight to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, departing from Luton Airport on the morning of April 26 and flying back later the same day costs only £26 with Wizz Air, according to flight comparison site Skyscanner.
And with the average cost of a pack of 20 cigarettes being six times cheaper than in Britain, at £2.38, you can fly to the country and bring back 200 cigarettes for under £50 (£49.76).
Telegraph analysis, using European cigarette prices from July 2023 according to American think tank Tax Foundation, shows purchasing cigarettes abroad is cheaper in 23 European countries even after the cost of a return flight. At the same time, a 20-pack of cigarettes cost £14.54 in Britain.
It comes after the Chancellor announced the forty-third increase in tobacco duty in some 46 years in the spring Budget. It is the latest in a string of tax rises and price increases which have meant the cost of a packet of 20 cigarettes has almost doubled in the past decade, from £8.06 in 2014 to £15.26 now, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The stark contrast in the price of cigarettes abroad has drawn criticism from campaigners who have warned the Government, treating smokers like “cash cows”, will ultimately lead to lower tax revenues for the Treasury as smokers look to get around the “excessive” levy. The Treasury collected £10bn in tobacco duty for the last complete financial year but this was £274m lower than the previous year.
Since January 2021, travellers are allowed to bring up to 200 cigarettes or 250g of tobacco into the UK without paying tax or duty. This is known as your personal allowance. If you choose to go over this, you have to declare the amount and pay any excise duty due.
The analysis also showed a short two-hour hop to Santiago de Compostela in the north-west of Spain could save you £70. Flying on Monday April 22 departing from Stansted Airport with Ryanair at 11.30am before a return flight in the evening with Vueling arriving back into Gatwick for 7.55pm is currently priced at £36.
Buying 200 cigarettes will cost slightly under £40 (£39.48), meaning your daytrip will set you back £75.48.
A trip to Milan for 200 cigarettes on Thursday April 18 could save you £67, while a quick pit stop in the Algarve, flying to Faro on Wednesday April 24 is £60 cheaper than purchasing cigarettes in Britain.
In fact, there are only four European countries in which you can’t make a saving next month. These are Ireland, Belgium, Finland and Slovenia.
In the case of Ireland, they have similarly high prices for tobacco as in the UK. Whereas the lack of regular daily flights to Brussels, Helsinki or Ljubljana means a daytrip is not cost effective.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s latest “one-off” increase will add 40p to a pack of cigarettes, although this won’t be introduced until Oct 1 2026.
In his first Budget as Chancellor in March 2023, he added £1.55 to a pack of 20 cigarettes.
Benjamin Elks, development manager of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “With further hikes to tobacco duty pencilled in, smokers are understandably looking at ways to get around the excessive levy.
“Having been used as cash cows for years, cheaper continental cigarettes will sap revenue from the Treasury.
“Ministers should end the war on tobacco and focus on positive ways to encourage people to kick the habit.”
