Smokers Will Pay More For Cigarettes

The European Commission will soon present a proposal to increase smoking taxes in Europe, and changes may take place this autumn. The question of how new smoking products should be taxed is also expected to be resolved, writes EURACTIV.

New rules on the rise in prices of smoking products were to come at the end of last year, but the Russian-Ukrainian war conflict pushed back several legislative initiatives, including this one.

The rules need to change because the rates set by the directive in 2011 no longer meet their targets. The minimum rates are low and have been exceeded by many Member States in an effort to combat the bad habit. This is complicated by the fact that new alternatives to cigarettes have since emerged on the market, which the Directive does not account for.

Member States may set their own rates which should be a minimum of EUR 1.8. Data from the Tax Foundation show that in July this year, the average excise tax to be 3.44 euros.

However, what makes the situation more difficult is the new tobacco products, such as smokeless tobacco products. They do not work on the principle of burning, but heating and contain the same tobacco as cigarettes. As these products did not exist in 2011, they are not covered by the directive. Member States have therefore agreed on a different approaches and tax them differently.