Michel Philippe, president of the tobacconists of Eure-et-Loir, does not swallow the latest vote of local senators on the rise in tobacco prices. Angry, he sends them an open letter.
“As president of the Federation of tobacconists of Eure-et-Loir, I would like to express to you the anger of my 172 colleagues, following the adoption by the senators of a new tax trajectory on price of tobacco While the Senate has often been an ally of our profession, here it is adopting an increase in taxation which will result in an increase of €3 per pack of cigarettes within two years. n / A spoke up to defend tobacconists. Not a single senator expressed the idea that there already exists a tax trajectory on tobacco products. Not a single senator even mentioned the fact that our profession is suffering from the market. At the same time, an increase in prices would only aggravate this phenomenon and expose us even more to crime and the violence that accompanies it.”
“A vote which comes the week when the police dismantled a seventh factory manufacturing contraband cigarettes on the national territory… How could elected officials from the territories accept this? How could you let it be said during the debates that this increase would only be a few cents when we are talking about several euros? By the tax trajectory which was already weighing on tobacco, the pack of cigarettes was already going to increase by 1 € on January 1, 2025. By your vote, this increase will ultimately be €2! The only consequence will be the impoverishment of tobacconists, the strengthening of the black market and the organized crime that accompanies it. Without any effect on smoking since it has stagnated at 25% for several years. years.”
Ahmed Taghza
Follow @AhmedTaghza
