Official: Australians already pay more for cigarettes than anyone else in the world - even BEFORE the government announced it would charge a massive $40 a packet

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It's already among the most expensive places in the world to buy a pack of cigarettes, according to experts.

And Australians are going to have to fork out more than ever for smokes, with prices set to soar past $40 per pack by 2020 after Budget tax changes. 

Cigarette makers fumed and public health advocates celebrated on Tuesday evening as Treasurer Scott Morrison announced he will hike the tobacco excise by 12.5 per cent each year for the next four years.  

'This means Australia has the highest excise regime in the world,' claimed Andrew Gregson, the head of legal and corporate affairs for Imperial American Tobacco. 

But how do Australia's cigarette prices stack up against other countries?

From $24.58 for a Marlboro pack in Melbourne to $1.80 in Moscow, this is how much cigarette packs cost around the world, according to a Deutsche Bank report released last year

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison announced he would lift the tobacco excise by 12.5 per cent a year for four years until 2020, which experts said would lift prices to up to $40AUD

The cost of a typical packet of Marlboro cigarettes varies dramatically and does not just hinge on excise

A 2015 Deutsche Bank survey found a Marlboro pack in Melbourne ($24.58AUD) or Sydney ($22.54) was double the price of those in Paris ($10.13) or Ottawa (11.59). 

The study, named Mapping The World's Prices, found Australian smoke packets were nearly $7 more expensive than similar packs in London ($17.79) or New York ($17.32). 

And the prices were astronomical compared to the dirt cheap products on offer in Beijing, China ($4.34), Cape Town, South Africa ($3.74) or Jakarta, Indonesia ($1.80). 

Public health expert Simon Chapman, an Emeritus Professor at Sydney University, said Australia is 'definitely' already one of the world's most expensive countries for cigarette packets. 

There are few up-to-date figures of which country is the world's most expensive, but 2012 Tobacco Atlas figures placed Australia second to Norway.   

Prof. Chapman said the $40AUD tax hike could possibly see Australia 'pushing out in front of that as well'.

Other Tobacco Atlas 2012 measurements listed Australia as the sixth most expensive country when relative income was factored in, behind Belize, the U.K, Ireland, New Zealand and Singapore.  

Sydney University tobacco control researcher Becky Freeman said: 'Affordability is important to consider, which is generally measured in the average number of minutes you'd need to work to be able to purchase a pack of cigarettes. 

'Again, there are countries/jurisdictions that are in front of Australia.' 

Cigarettes in Sydney (pictured) were the second most expensive in the Deutsche Bank survey at $22.54

Smokes in London were some $7 below the Australian cost in 2015, figures said

Smokes in New York City cost $17.32AUD, according to the 2015 'Mapping The World's Prices' index

Mr Morrison and public health lobbyists have cheered the tax measure as being good for Australians' health.  

Cancer Council CEO Professor Sanchia Aranda said it will save lives. 'The increase in tobacco tax alone will translate to tens of thousands of cancer deaths avoided,' Prof. Aranda said.

She claimed the increases will lead to up to 320,000 smokers quit and 40,000 teenagers deterred from taking up smoking. 

In a statement, Imperial Tobacco Australia said it was 'justifiably furious' about the tax hike, accusing Mr Morrison of going back on his word. 

'The government needs to stop treating Australia's three million plus smokers like second-class citizens, said Andrew Gregson, the company's head of legal and corporate affairs.

He urged the government to respect people's rights to 'buy a legal product'and said smokers would be furious.