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Agence France-Presse

The cost of lighting up at a French sidewalk cafe may finally dissuade even the most ardent smoker, if Prime Minister Edouard Phillippe gets his way.
With 80,000 tobacco-related deaths in France each year, “doing nothing is not an option,” Philippe said on Tuesday, announcing a plan to raise the price of a packet of cigarettes to 10 euros (US$11.3) from the current seven euros.
Tobacco “is the leading cause of preventable death, and daily use is growing among adolescents,” the premier said in a speech to parliament.
Philippe did not give a timeline for the price hike, which he said would be accompanied by “a merciless fight against traffickers who undermine this policy.”

French smokers already pay some of the highest prices for cigarettes in the European Union, surpassed only by Britain and Ireland.
Around 80 per cent of the cost of a pack goes to the government in tax, bringing in 14 billion euros in revenue each year.
An estimated 16 million people smoke at least occasionally in France -- about one in three aged between 15 and 85.
Last year, the government introduced neutral cigarette packets covered with graphic health warnings.
President Emmanuel Macron, elected in May, said on the campaign trail that he was open to raising the price of a packet of cigarettes to 10 euros, but he also urged neighbouring countries to follow suit to avoid smokers shopping around for deals.


France may raise price of cigarettes to 10 euros a pack to break the habit

A man smokes a cigarette in Paris, as the government considers raising the price of a pack of cigarettes to 10 euros from the current 7 euros to break the habit which is causing 80,000 tobacco-related deaths a year. Photo: AFP

A handout picture taken and released on August 12, 2013 by the Guardia Civil shows boxes containing counterfeit packs of cigarettes in a truck after it was seized by the Guardia Civil in Murcia. Police in Spain have seized 465,000 packs of fake cigarettes worth more than 2.2 million euros (2.9 million USD) smuggled by boat from China, the interior ministry said today. Police believe the counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes were destined for France as the text on the packets was in French, the ministry said in a statement. AFP PHOTO / GUARDIA CIVIL RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / GUARDIA CIVIL" NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

France may raise price of cigarettes to 10 euros a pack to break the habit

Tobacco-related deaths in France now at 80,000 per year