The Alcome levy: what you pay without knowing on every cigarette filter or tube

Since 2021, the environmental body Alcome has managed the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for tobacco products in France. Created by cigarette manufacturers, the organisation funds the collection of cigarette butts and filters discarded in public spaces. Although it is often called the “Alcome tax” in conversation, it is in fact an eco-contribution paid by producers on every filter or tube sold. The French anti-waste law for a circular economy (AGEC) requires manufacturers to help fund the clean-up of cigarette butts and awareness work aimed at smokers. This article explains how the contribution is calculated, how much is levied and what the money is used for.

An environmental body, not a tax

Alcome is not a tax authority; it was set up by the tobacco industry to manage the eco-contribution attached to cigarette butts. The explanatory site Tchaomegot points out that this contribution is not a tax imposed by the state but an amount set by the manufacturers themselves. Each producer or importer pays a sum for every unit sold according to an adjustable scale, with a bonus granted when filters contain no plastic. The system rests on the polluter-pays principle: the more polluting a product, the higher its contribution. The money collected funds ashtrays, clean-up operations and awareness campaigns.

How much are you paying?

The 2024-2025 scale in detail

Since 2024, the scale set by Alcome has stood at €1.62 per 1,000 units (filter cigarettes, and filters and tubes sold separately). Products whose filter contains no plastic benefit from a 50% reduction, bringing the contribution down to €0.81 per 1,000 units. The scale was carried over for 2025 by Alcome’s stakeholder committee. The 2025 note confirms that both the amount and the bonus are unchanged. For a consumer, that works out at around €0.24 of eco-contribution on a packet of 150 filters (150 × €0.00162). A packet of 500 tubes carries around €0.81 of contribution, or €0.41 for 250 tubes. One retail site indicated that in 2024 the eco-contribution added around €0.28 to the price of a packet of 150 filters, which matches that calculation.

For small manufacturers placing fewer than 50 million units a year on the market, the rules provide for an annual flat fee of between €4,500 and €27,000 depending on quantities sold. This exemption is intended to prevent excessive contributions from threatening the survival of small brands, but it attracts criticism because it does not necessarily reflect the actual volume of waste generated.

The 2026 scale: rates and changes

The contribution paid by manufacturers towards the collection of cigarette butts has been revised sharply upwards for 2026.
From now on, every batch of 1,000 acetate-based filters (plastic) carries an eco-contribution of €2.84 excluding VAT (that is €3.41 including VAT at 20%). For acetate-free filters (100% paper), the contribution is €1.42 excluding VAT per 1,000 units (€1.70 including VAT).

By comparison, the 2024-2025 scale stood at €1.62 per 1,000 units: the increase for 2026 is therefore around +75% (€2.84 against €1.62).
Although the amounts are small per unit, they add to the final price when buying in quantity.

Figures rounded to the nearest cent, VAT at 20%. Source: Alcome.

Practical ways to pay less

• Choose 100% paper filters (acetate-free):
  the eco-contribution is halved. Over time the difference adds up. On a packet of 150 filters, for instance, the contribution falls from around €0.51 including VAT for plastic filters to €0.26 including VAT for paper filters, a saving of close to €0.25 per packet.
• Keep your butts in a pocket ashtray or a street ashtray:
  it is a simple step for the environment and it avoids other social costs (cleaning, or fines for dropping litter), even though none of that is billed through the Alcome contribution.

In short, this is less a “tax” than an eco-contribution: by choosing plastic-free filters and using ashtrays, you reduce both your environmental impact and the amount paid indirectly through the price of filters. As a reminder, the contribution for 2026 stands at €2.84 excluding VAT per 1,000 plastic filters (€1.42 excluding VAT without plastic).

What is the money used for? Alcome’s activities

Under the terms of reference approved by the French state, Alcome must cover part of the cleaning costs borne by local authorities and contribute to the purchase of public ashtrays. The scheme aims to cut the number of butts dropped in the street by 40% by 2027 and to sign agreements with most local authorities. In 2023, for example, only 4% of the volumes placed on the market qualified for the plastic-free bonus, which suggests considerable room for improvement. Besides cleaning, the body funds awareness campaigns and pilot schemes designed to change smokers’ behaviour and to promote filters that are easier on the environment.

Disputes and possible improvements

The scale is not universally accepted. In 2021, Republic Technologies (the OCB brand) criticised a contribution that, it said, amounted to around 1.33% of the unit price of a filter and weighed heavily on its finances. Several players consider the system unfair because the contribution is calculated per unit rather than according to the amount of plastic or the biodegradability of the product: a small 100% paper filter pays as much as a large cellulose acetate one. Associations and local authorities consulted in 2022 argued for a differentiated scale based on the weight of plastic and for a 100% bonus for plastic-free filters. The government has not adopted these proposals so far, but the debate remains open.

The key points

In the end, the “Alcome tax” built into the price of filters and tubes amounts to only a few cents, but it funds a scheme designed to reduce discarded butts and to encourage cleaner filters. For 2025, the scale remains set at €1.62 per 1,000 units with a 50% reduction for plastic-free filters, which works out at around €0.24 of eco-contribution on a packet of 150 filters. By choosing biodegradable filters and using the ashtrays provided, smokers can help reduce the environmental impact of what they buy.