The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has announced a 10 percent increase on hand-rolling tobacco.

The price of hand-rolling tobacco will be hiked by the rate of inflation plus 12 percent from 6pm today.

It is estimated the move will bring in an extra £40million for the Treasury in 2024.

There was also no relief announced for those who smoke manufactured cigarettes.

Anyone who makes or imports cigarettes, cigars, hand-rolling tobacco, or chewable tobacco will need to pay the tobacco duty.

Mr Hunt told MPs: “I am going to increase duty on hand-rolling tobacco by an additional 10 percent above the tobacco duty escalator.”

That means the tax will go up by the RPI level of inflation, 6.1 percent, plus 12 percent and the price of all tobacco products will increase by RPI plus two percent.

The hike follows the Government’s bid to reduce the gap in the cost of hand-rolling tobacco and packets of cigarettes.

The Chancellor announced the measures alongside a duty freeze for alcohol products, claiming he was keeping the “Brexit Pubs Guarantee”.

Tobacco duty is a tax charged to businesses making or importing cigarettes into the UK. But the cost is then passed onto consumers.

Campaigners have slammed Mr Hunt’s move, saying the Chancellor has “raised two fingers to working-class people across the country”.

Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest, said: “Raising duty on hand-rolled tobacco by such a punitive amount is going to push more smokers further into poverty or into the hands of illegal traders including criminal gangs.

“This is a clear attack on smokers from poorer backgrounds, many of whom use hand-rolled tobacco because until now it’s been cheaper than buying manufactured cigarettes.”

In October, Rishi Sunak announced the legal smoking age a year every year, and new tougher rules on vaping are to be introduced.

The tougher tobacco sale laws would mean a 14-year-old today will ‘never legally be sold a cigarette’ as the smoking age limit is gradually increased from 18.