But the Chancellor did not give any firm details on how he plans to stop smugglers importing billions of pounds worth of contraband into the UK from the Continent where lower excise duty means beer and cigarettes are much cheaper. The price of a litre of cider will rise 1p, as will alcopops, while fortified wine will go up by 5p a bottle from 1 January. Duty on wine will also rise by 4p a bottle on the same date, but there was better news for the Scotch whisky industry, with duty on spirits frozen.The tobacco industry was resigned to the prospect of a sharp rise in duty after the Chancellor announced plans to do this in the last Budget and increased the price of packet of 20 cigarettes by 19p last December.But the industry breathed a sigh of relief when it was announced that the increase would not be introduced until the end of the year.However Paul Mason, of the Tobacco Alliance, representing independent retailers, said deferring the rise to December added to the burden for small retailers as they would be forced to compete against large chains able to stockpile cigarettes now to be sold off more cheaply when the rise came in.The anti-smoking lobby group Ash said the Government's decision to increase duty would save more than 2,000 lives and reduce cigarette consumption by around 2 billion a year. The Government is planning a crackdown on smuggling - which is estimated to cost the Treasury more than pounds 1bn a year in lost tax revenue - rather than introducing a cut in duty. The hike in excise duty from 1 December is equivalent to 21p on a packet of cigarettes. Smokers face a 9p rise in the price of a pack of five small cigars and a 12p increase in a 25g pouch of pipe tobacco. The Government stunned the beer industry by announcing a 1p-per-pint rise in excise duty from 1 January. The move to increase duty in line with inflation comes despite pleas by brewing and pub groups to slash duties to curb the explosion of illegal imports from the Continent.
With 35 per cent of the vote counted, Robert Kocharian had 38 per cent to the former Communist leader Karen Demirchian's 27 per cent. Turnout in Monday's national election was high, with voters discontented over economic decline. The official Communist Party candidate, Sergei Badalian, had 17 per cent of the vote. As none of the candidates was likely to get an outright majority, a run-off between the top two is likely on 30 March.The results are likely to be contested. Seven of the 12 candidates were alleging fraud - the same accusation Armenians made against their former president, Levon Ter-Petrosian, whose resignation last month opened the way for Monday's vote.. THE price of a packet of 20 cigarettes will pass pounds 3.50 for the first time after the Government kept its pledge to increase tobacco duty at five per cent above the rate of inflation. YEREVAN (AP) - The Armenian Prime Minister took a solid lead as early presidential election returns were counted yesterday, but he still appears to be heading for a run-off ballot with the country's former Communist Party boss. Yeltsin-watchers search for signs that his heart is playing up, that he is drinking again, or has had a stroke However, other factors could also be in play.
Mr Yeltsin, 67, has long had a habit of disappearing, ill and depressed, usually, after a flurry of activity He has also recently shown signs of being confused. This time, Rostropovich, the cellist and conductor, has claimed credit for persuading him to stay at home convalescing. Rostropovich visited Mr Yeltsin on Sunday and said he had "absolutely no worries" about the President's health. "There was no end to our delight when we saw him robust and braced-up.". To counter this, his press service provided relatively detailed accounts of his ailment, issuing a statement saying the doctors felt he should cancel engagements "to avoid complications to the bronchial tubes and lungs". The President's illnesses invariably attract headlines worldwide, largely because of the suspicion the Kremlin is covering up a more serious condition, as it used to in Soviet times. By yesterday afternoon, unlike the case with previous illnesses, no television pictures of the President had been released.
