The rise in the price of a pack of cigarettes in France

We have chosen to base ourselves on the price of a well-known brand of cigarette pack in order to track how the price of tobacco has changed in France. That brand accounts for 25% of the French market and sits at an average selling price.

Between 2000 and 2012 the price of this pack of cigarettes rose by 112.5%, going from 3.20 euros to 6.80 euros over those twelve years. Once inflation is taken into account, some sources state that the price of tobacco has tripled.

Who gains what from these increases?

It is worth knowing that on the sale of a pack of cigarettes the tobacconist earns less than 9% of the price. The manufacturer earns around 12%, and the rest goes to the state in tax.

Following these repeated increases, smokers turned to roll-your-own tobacco, which had been spared the price rises until then.
To counter this, roll-your-own tobacco has for some years been subject to larger increases than the standard pack of cigarettes. At the increase of 15 July 2013, for example, the pack of roll-your-own tobacco went up by 40 cents while the pack of cigarettes rose by 20 cents.
On top of the price of the pouch of tobacco, there is the price of rolling papers to add, and often accessories such as a tobacco pouch or a rolling machine.

It is now easier to understand the interest smokers have shown in the electronic cigarette.