The Spring Statement document has confirmed whether cigarette prices will rise or not. The cost of a pack of cigarettes will not rise after the Spring Statement, it was confirmed by the documents in the wake of Labour Party Chancellor Rachel Reeves' statement today. An increase in tobacco duty was not anticipated because the Government confirmed last October it will increase once a year in the Budget, which is usually held in the Autumn. Prices will rise annually based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation, plus an additional 2%. Economists, forex experts, accountants and wealth managers have delivered a withering verdict on the Spring Statement delivered by UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, this lunchtime. Tony Redondo, Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange commented: "This feels like Reeves trying to play chess while everyone wants a rugby match. READ MORE Six medical conditions which knock UK households' council tax bills to £0 "There were strategic moves such as defence and fiscal discipline that might pay off later, but the crowd’s restless now. The Office for Budget Responsibility halving the 2025 UK growth forecast from 2% to 1% is a gut punch to Labour’s flagship growth mission. "Welfare hits will bite and the optics of “tough choices” might not land well when growth is stalling. A £2.2 billion defence uplift for 2025-26, pushing spending to 2.36% of GDP, is the headline grabber but it’s still shy of what Trump is demanding, and critics will call it a shiny distraction from domestic woes. "The Pound’s sulking. Reeves is blaming everyone else and banking on our patience but with stagflation whispers (inflation up to 3.7% later this year per BoE forecasts), it’s yet another gamble. For me, too little, too late. If she was a Tory Chancellor, she would be gone by now." Sam Newton, Director at Gravitate Accounting commented: "The predicted average inflation rate of 3.2% for this year will be worrying for a lot of small business owners. Inflation means rising operational costs and less spending power for their customers. UK businesses have done an extraordinary job at adapting to this over the last few years, but continued inflation at this level – paired with the incoming increase in employer NICs, means the rest of the year could be extremely precarious. Businesses should continue to prioritise financial stability, make sure they budget and forecast effectively, and streamline as many of their operations as they can." Pete Mugleston, Mortgage Advisor & Managing Director at Online Mortgage Advisor commented: "Compared to the Autumn Statement, this was almost a non-event with little of note announced. No doubt, the Chancellor will have been pleased to see inflation drop to 2.8% before she made her speech, but there was little in the speech that will convince the markets or the wider public that the country is on the right track no matter what she says. "At the end of the day, the British public will want to see that the Chancellor's policies bear fruit, with the OBR forecasting growth to halve from 2% to 1% this year. She's running out of time to produce those results."