Cigarette prices in France raised for July 2018

Moving towards the planned 10€ pack of cigarettes for 2020, cigarette prices in France are being raised this July. Published in the Journal Officiel, this price hike will not apply to all brands.

The July 2nd price hike will only concern references for which the price is below the current market rates. From that date onwards, the cheapest pack of cigarettes will put you back 7.70€ in France.

Tobacco giants forced to align their prices

While some cigarette manufacturers have already adjusted their prices to comply with the scheduled 10€ price mark established by Macron for 2020, others have been waiting to do so. This new increase will serve to put all tobacco products on the same level.

The brands concerned by this new price adjustment include Benson and Hedges Original Red, and Winston Connect Blue, increased from 7.50 to 7.80 euros, and 7.60 to 7.70 euros respectively. Other products, such as 20 Marlboro Red, will maintain their current prices. At 8€ since March 1st, after a 70-cent price hike, the price of this classic brand is already a step above the competition.

These increases, from 10 to 30 cents, represent the fourth revision of tobacco prices since 2017. A pack of cigarettes will now cost approximately 8 euros, slowly inching towards the 10-euro mark, for all brands, by 2020.

It seems that the measure is already bearing fruit, in particular among less financially stable populations. French Minister for Health Agnès Buzyn recently declared that there was a drop in smoking rates representing one million individuals who quit smoking in France in 2017. The increase in prices may be only partially responsible, given the popularity of e-cigarettes, but in any case this represents a huge leap in the fight against tobacco.