One-off and limited reductions in 2025
On a more marginal note, a few benchmarks experienced price declines during 2025, mainly during the June adjustment. These reductions, ranging from 30 to 70 cents, concerned a limited number of brands and did not call into question the general upward trend in the price of tobacco on the market as a whole.
Increases confirmed in 2026
On 1 January 2026, a new increase in tobacco prices comes into force. The policy of gradually increasing tobacco prices has thus reached a symbolic stage, with an average price of around 13 euros per pack. This strategy aims to deter the entry into smoking and encourage the reduction of consumption.
How has the average price of a pack of 20 cigarettes changed since the 2000s?
A pack of around three euros in the early 2000s
In the early 2000s, the average price of a pack of 20 cigarettes in France was around three euros. At that time, tobacco remained relatively affordable, despite the first prevention policies against smoking. However, since the early 2000s, the State has made the tax lever a central tool in the fight against smoking.
A rapid and continuous increase during the 2000s and 2010s
Price increases followed one another at a steady pace. In 2004, the price of a pack had already reached five euros, marking a break. In the following years, successive increases accompanied the strengthening of public health policies, in line with the objectives of reducing smoking and financing Social Security.
A package that reaches ten euros in 2020
Sixteen years later, around 2020, a standard pack of 20 cigarettes reached an average of ten euros, more than triple the price observed in the early 2000s. This increase illustrates an assumed strategy of regular increases, sometimes in significant increments, aimed at making tobacco less and less accessible.
A recent acceleration in increases
