At 10 in the morning Abhinav, 26, an employee of a multinational, forked out ₹100 to buy a pack of Gold Flake Light. He did not get the usual ₹10 note back with the pack. The smoker of seven years was prepared for it on Budget day.

However, for Devesh, a journalist, smoking would mean burning a bigger hole in his pocket. He has been making do with fewer sticks a day since the previous Budget. “This time I have to cut it further, I guess”, he said.

Smitha, a banker, who detests discussion on her smoking habits, felt she now has a decent alibi to quit. “I puffed my last during the Budget speech,” she asserts.

“It’s really steep. Last year’s Budget had cost my Classic pack a rise of ₹10. If I remember correctly, the Budget two years ago had dealt a similar blow. It is a very costly proposition now; I may have to think of something else,” said Salil, a railway official, stopping short of buying a full packet.

He could settle for a shorter length at half the price. The lower range of cigarettes post-Budget would cost between ₹30 and ₹40 a pack, higher by 50 paise a stick. Manghee Ram, a cigarette stall owner, felt his sales would remain unaffected. “I would sell more small cigarettes, or paans or bidis or even lozenges,” said he.

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