With an increase of 50 cents on January 1, 2025, a pack of 20 cigarettes reaches on average €12 in France. In Alsace, smokers have been buying their tobacco in Germany for a long time, where it is cheaper. In the region, one in two purchases is made in a border country.
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Twelve euros. This is the average price of a pack of cigarettes sold in France since 1is January 2025, after a further increase of 50 cents. We learned the news from a French consumer we met in Kehl (Germany) at the beginning of the year. “Downright ! Fortunately we are on the border.“
The habit of Alsatian smokers of going to Germany to find cheaper tobacco is unlikely to stop. And it's been going on for a while. “It's been a long time, at least 10 years, for the simple reason that it's much cheaper“, our surprised consumer tells us. “Me for 15 yearsadds another. I work nearby and do the shopping for my neighbors..”
And the saleswoman at this border tobacco shop confirms. “Most customers are French. It's rare that they are Germans.” Tobacco among our neighbors has always been cheaper. In 2002, when a pack cost €3.60 in France, it was 60 cents less in Germany. A small difference which has increased over the years:
- 1€ difference in 2011
- €2 in 2019
- €3 in 2021
- €4 in 2025
With such a price difference, the inhabitants of the Grand Est are the ones who buy their tobacco the most in a border country, far ahead of other French regions. More than one in two consumers (54%) made their last purchase in Germany, Luxembourg or Belgium.
In Germany, a turning point in tax policy on tobacco products took place in 2022. Taxes increase annually, but more slowly than in France. The package should reach €9 in 2026.
In France, the public authorities assure that these price increases on tobacco are useful in reducing consumption. The first measures began at the beginning of the 2000s. In a quarter of a century, the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes has almost quadrupled. The increase was more marked from 2018 and the government's national anti-smoking program, renewed in 2023.
Tobacco sales have collapsed: 91,000 tonnes sold in 2000, compared to 37,000 tonnes in 2023. Two reasons to explain this: consumers buy more abroad, while others stop smoking or reduce their consumption . 30% of adults in the year 2000 smoked daily, today it is 24%.
Health authorities point out that tobacco kills 75,000 people each year, which is the cause of death for one in eight people.
