Smokers on a spree to beat the Budget

Fears of a steep increase in the price of packet of 20 cigarettes has prompted a pre-Budget surge in tobacco purchases, according to retailers.

Tobacconists throughout the State have reported a dramatic rise in demand for cigarettes, pipe tobacco and snuff, all of which are expected to be hit by a steep tax rise in today's Budget. "It's not quite panic buying," said one shopkeeper, "but people are stocking up."

The Government last week moved to dampen speculation that the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, will raise the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes by 79p, or 20 per cent. But a significant rise is expected.

That expectation has led to a "big increase in purchases over the last couple of days," said Ms Nuala McNamara, manager of Cahill's tobacconists in Limerick. "People are doubling and tripling up. They're effectively buying as much as they can afford."

Ms Jane O'Callaghan, manager of O'Sullivan's in Cork, said "people are definitely stocking up. It's the first time I've noticed anything like this before a Budget. Right across the board, people are buying up larger quantities. In the last few days I've sold a number of 'outers'" (boxes of 200).

Phelan's in Waterford reported a similar experience. "Where normally people would ask for 20 cigarettes, they are getting boxes of 200," said a spokeswoman.

In Dublin, there were mixed reports from newsagents, although all those contacted said they had seen an increase in sales of some description. Spar in Tallaght village said there had been a definite surge since Friday when reports of the increase surfaced.