Tobacco: cigarette pack prices to rise on 1 January

Smokers and tobacconists are affected once again: the government has announced a further rise in the price of the cigarette pack. It is the third increase in fifteen months, and the price could go up by 30 centimes on 1 January 2015.

If the announcement is confirmed by the government, the health minister says the size of the increase has not yet been decided. It is part of a set of measures presented recently, the flagship of which is the introduction of the plain pack in early 2016.
The finance ministry is reported to be negotiating with the large tobacco manufacturers, despite the decision being well established. Will smokers have to reach for their wallets once again? Tobacco giant Philip Morris, which distributes Marlboro among other brands, is threatening not to pass on the tax rise but is currently declining to comment on the possible increase or on the negotiations.

The measures in the anti-tobacco plan

A fourth increase in a little over two years

When she presented the anti-tobacco plan at the end of September, minister Marisol Touraine had already flagged a future rise in the price of the cigarette pack, « an increase following the usual procedures », as she put it.
If the decision were confirmed by the government, it would be the fourth price rise in a little over two years. In October 2012, the price of the pack went up by 40 centimes, followed by two further increases of 20 centimes in July 2013 and in early January 2014.

Have your say on the announcement

Will another increase in the price of the pack prompt you to cut down or to stop smoking? Will it benefit the electronic cigarette sector?