Retail price of cigarettes in Europe 2022, by country

The price of cigarettes is substantially different across Europe. As of 2022, the most expensive EU country in which to purchase cigarettes was Ireland, with a pack of 20 cigarettes retailing at 13.43 euros, followed by France at 10.19 euros. Cigarette prices in Europe are driven by the respective taxes imposed within each of the member states and consist of a specific duty per 1,000 cigarettes and an ad valorem rate on the recommended retail.

Tobacco taxes

Variations in cigarette prices are often a result of the different tobacco taxes across European countries. For instance, in Finland where the price for a pack of cigarettes is relatively high, the tobacco tax makes up more than 70 percent of the price. When comparing cigarette prices to the share of individuals who currently smoke cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, or a pipe in European countries, a general trend is observable. Many of those countries with relatively high cigarette prices have comparably lower shares of smokers. Nonetheless, many other factors can influence smoking behavior, besides prices. For example, many people in a variety of European countries have stated that they smoked more cigarettes due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Cigarette consumption in Germany

In Germany, the most popular type of cigarettes in Germany are branded cigarettes, followed by fine-cut tobacco. The average price of cigarettes in Germany has continuously increased during the last half of a century. A particularly large increase was noticed between 2000 and 2005. The development of the average price of cigarettes and the tobacco tax in Germany are closely correlated. Pushing up the price of cigarettes has led to a decrease in the average consumption of (taxed) cigarettes in Germany. In 2000, an average of 382 million cigarettes were consumed per day. By contrast, an average of 197 million cigarettes were smoked per day in 2021.