Cigarettes will go up by 8p per packet, Chancellor Gordon Brown announced during his eighth Budget.

A pint of beer will go up by one pence, and a bottle of wine will go up by 4p a bottle.

Duty on cider and spirits has been frozen.

The increased alcohol tax follows the publication of the Government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England, unveiled earlier this week.

It will disappoint the British brewing industry which wanted a freeze on beer duty.

But the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) will welcome increased small breweries relief.

The Chancellor doubled the volume of beer production eligible for the tax relief.

It will mean the 50% reduction on excise duty for the first 5,000 hectolitres produced will apply to breweries producing up to 60,000 hectolitres, compared to 30,000 hectolitres last year.

The Chancellor said his decision to freeze spirit duties for the remainder of this Parliament would be the longest freeze on duty in nearly half a century.

He added: "My decision on cigarettes is, for public health reasons, to go ahead with the rise but only the annual inflation rise of 8p a packet."