The price of cigarette packs will not increase. Roll-your-own tobacco, on the other hand, is experiencing a major increase.
A sigh of relief seems to emerge from the smokers. The decree fixing the new prices of cigarette packs appeared in the Official Journal. In most cases, the cost will not increase, with the notable exception of roll-your-own tobacco which has registered significant increases. The manufacturers seem to have made, on the whole, the choice of loyalty rather than profitability.
Last January, taxes on tobacco products climbed, as part of the Social Security Financing Act for 2017. The producers then brandished a concrete threat: they promised to pass this on to the prices of packages of cigarette. It is their strictest right. In France, the setting of tariffs is free even if it must be approved by the public authorities.
The rise of roll-your-own tobacco
The decree published on February 2 should reassure smokers: the announced increase will ultimately not take place for most brands. “Despite an increase in taxes, an industrialist may very well decide not to pass them on, and remain at a lower price than his competitors to attract more customers,” says a manufacturer to theAFP. This is the choice made by Marlboro or Lucky Strike. Other brands – like Camel and Gauloises – raised prices slightly. But the additional amount is in cents.
It is ultimately the consumers of rolling tobacco who find themselves the most harmed: the increases confirmed by the State vary from 1 to 10 euros depending on the brand. Apart from this notable case, prices therefore remain stable. The last major development dates back to January 2014. These changes, which come into force on February 20, will not change the situation. But the next increase should not be long, according to the words of Marisol Touraine. “I will not give up because increasing the price of tobacco is important in terms of public health,” said the Minister of Health. A point of view shared by one of his predecessors, Claude Evin, in an interview with Why actor The author of the tobacco law hopes that “France is committed to a sudden rise in prices”.
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