Overview

• The European Commission has proposed raising the minimum excise duty on cigarettes from €90 to €215 per 1,000 sticks and on fine-cut tobacco from €60 to €215 per kilogram, with an added purchasing-power adjustment.
• Retail prices in Germany would jump by over 40 percent for branded cigarettes—pushing packs from about €8.50 to more than €12—and by roughly 80 percent for a 30-gram bag of fine-cut tobacco.
• Brussels aims to claim 15 percent of national tobacco tax revenues for its own budget under the plan, a proposal that has drawn resistance from several member-state capitals.
• Tobacco industry representatives and skeptical MEPs warn that the “price shock” could drive consumers toward illicit supplies, noting the black market already accounts for about one in five cigarettes smoked in Germany.
• Health authorities and pro-tax legislators argue that steep duty hikes are the most effective lever to reduce smoking, citing studies showing a 10 percent price increase cuts consumption by roughly 4 percent.