The government of Gibraltar has increased the duty on cigarettes by GIP0.25 ($0.32) per pack, reports The Gibraltar Chronicle.
Health authorities on the British Overseas Territory continue to voice concern about the high number of smokers in Gibraltar, which is about double the rate in the U.K.
A lifestyle survey conducted on the Rock in 2021 showed that nearly one in four people on the peninsula smoke. The majority of smokers (51.9 percent) had started by the age of 16. Health advocates blame low tobacco prices.
“The number of people that smoke in Gibraltar is definitely over 20 percent and it’s nearly twice the rates that they have in the U.K.,” Helen Carter, director of public health, told the Gibraltar Chronicle.
“That’s not surprising taking into account how cheap cigarettes are here in Gibraltar.”