Tobacco users in the UK are paying much more for tobacco products than their counterparts in other countries of the Europe, excluding Norway and Ireland, figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Eurostat revealed.

The recently released figures showed that prices of tobacco products in the UK in 2012 were 94 per cent above the European Union (EU) average.

However, tobacco products in Norway and Ireland were even more expensive. In Norway, tobacco prices were 170 per cent higher than European average, while in Ireland prices were 99 per cent above the average.

At this year's Budget, the UK government increased duty on packet of 20 cigarettes by 26p, making smoking costlier.

Alcohol prices in the UK were 43 per cent above the European average; while people in Macedonia were able to enjoy the cheapest prices in the European region, where prices standing 35 per cent below the average.

However, prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages in the UK were just 4 per cent above the European average. Price of bread was 11 per cent below the European average, while prices of cheese and eggs were 7 per cent above the average. UK meat prices were found to be in line with the European average.