As of today, smoking has become considerably more expensive again. The price of a pack of cigarettes has risen by more than 20 percent from 9 euros to more than 11 euros, the largest price increase ever.
Health organizations such as the Heart Foundation, KWF Cancer Control and the Lung Fund are happy with the new prices for tobacco. KWF director Carla van Gils calls the excise tax increase ‘a very important step towards a Smoke-Free Generation’. The government’s goal, set out in the Prevention Agreement, is that no child will smoke by 2040. Making cigarettes more expensive should help discourage young smokers. The KWF also hopes that the higher prices will encourage existing smokers to cut down or quit.
Cross the border
Tobacco manufacturers fear that the price increase will cause even more Dutch smokers to buy their tobacco abroad, where prices are often even lower. Dutch retailers in particular would be affected by the increased rates. After the price increase, a small pack of cigarettes will be almost 4 euros cheaper in Germany than here, but for rolling tobacco the difference is even greater.
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According to director Jan Hein Sträter of the Association of Dutch Cigarette and Cut Tobacco Manufacturers (VSK). A quarter of the cigarettes smoked in the Netherlands already come from abroad and in the case of rolling tobacco that share is even 37 percent. The VSK expects that the share of tobacco coming from abroad will only increase due to the increase in excise duties. Figures from the RIVM show that the blow to Dutch retailers will probably not be too bad, only 4 percent of smokers would currently buy their tobacco across the border because of the price.
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