Current smokers in Europe 2020, by country

The share of individuals who currently smoke cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos or a pipe in Greece was around 42 percent in 2020, which makes the Mediterranean country have the highest proportion of smokers in the EU.

Tobacco taxation

In an effort to reduce smoking prevalence among the populace, governments across Europe impose ever-higher tax rates on tobacco, making cigarettes much more expensive for consumers to purchase and hence, compelling them to reduce their consumption. For instance, Finland had the highest cigarette excise tax rate in 2019 at around 68 percent. Other countries like the Netherlands and Germany impose a slightly lower tax rate of 54 and 52 percent, respectively. The German government generated approximately 14.7 billion euros in revenues from tobacco taxation in 2020. With tobacco taxes making up the lion’s share of the price of a pack of cigarettes, European governments hope this will trigger a significant reduction in consumer demand.

To what extent did higher taxes contribute to reducing cigarette consumption in Europe?

With rising tobacco taxation across the European continent in the last years (albeit in varying rates), cigarette consumers have either quit smoking, reduced their intake or switched to e-cigarettes and non-combustible tobacco alternatives. In fact, only 28 percent of individuals consume tobacco in France today, a country once notorious for its prevalent tobacco consumption. This trend has been reflected over the years with a significant drop in the volume of cigarettes annually sold in France: In 2005, more than 54,000 tons of cigarettes were sold, but that figure dropped to nearly 36,000 tons by 2020. During the same time period, the price of the most sold brand of cigarettes in France more than tripled.