The federal government announced a 12.5 per cent annual increase in tobacco prices for the next four years as part of the 2016-17 federal budget on Tuesday night.

The hike means that, by 2020, a pack of cigarettes could cost as much as $40. 

Grampians Community Health marketing and communications manager Angela Turrell said the tax could only have a positive effect on smokers in Wimmera.

“Grampians Community Health supports any measure that will reduce unhealthy practices such as smoking,” she said.

“Smoking is the key cause of a clearly preventable disease.

“It has been proven that higher costs of tobacco reduces the total incidents of tobacco smoking.

“We can only hope some of the revenue made by the tax increase will be put back into community health by the government.”

The tax increase mirrors that of the former Labor government, which a 12.5 per cent increase for four years back in 2013.

That tax hike saw the average price of cigarettes rise from about $15 a pack to about $25 to $30. 

Horsham resident Leo Wilde believes the tax rise is the government’s way of targeting people with an addiction.

“When I started smoking about 50 years ago, nobody knew that it was bad for you,” he said. 

“Now, lots of people my age are addicted, and it’s extremely hard for us to quit.

“Instead of finding more ways to help, the government is just taking advantage of people who have an addiction to smoking.”