1 in 5 French smokers buys cigarettes abroad

Smuggling or cross-border shopping: the line between the two is thin. More and more French people are buying their cigarettes abroad, because prices at home keep rising.

Tobacco in France is too expensive

The rise in the price of tobacco in France has created a taste for cross-border purchases. In 2018, adult smokers chose to buy their pack of cigarettes abroad rather than at their usual tobacconist. That applies to 1 smoker in 5, according to the Santé publique France study published in mid-July.

Close to 80% of cigarette smokers, whether they roll their own or buy packs, remain loyal to their tobacconist, against 20% who are ready to cross the border to stock up abroad. The trend had been receding gradually since 2014, but the proportion of smokers buying their cigarettes in France is now falling back to the same figures as in 2014.

16.4% bought their rolling tobacco or cigarettes in a neighbouring country and 1.6% in countries further afield. Duty-free purchases account for only 2.1%, and street sales of cigarettes do not exceed 1%.

Close to 45% of French smokers have bought tobacco abroad in the past 12 months

The lack of price harmonisation at European level is responsible for this kind of behaviour. Residents of the Grand Est and Hauts-de-France regions are the most likely to do it, with 50% of smokers there having bought tobacco abroad at least once in the past 12 months. In the other regions the figure is 9% of smokers.

The number of tobacco users fell between 2014 and 2018, from 34.1% to 32%. So even though the proportion of cross-border purchases is rising, it remains similar in relation to the number of smokers.

It remains very difficult to tell whether these purchases are made entirely legally or amount to smuggling. By November 2020 the price of a pack will be set at 10 euros in France, one more argument for those who buy abroad.