Netherlands: Tobacco Prices up 20 percent

Tobacco prices in the Netherlands increased by nearly one-fifth this year as the government inches toward its goal of a €10 ($11.77) pack of cigarettes, reports DutchNews.
 
The 2020 increase is down to two tax increases, taking the price of a pack of cigarettes to around €8.20. A further rise of €0.12 cents will take place on Jan. 1, 2021.
 
Smokers still account for 22 percent of the Dutch population. Some 35,000 people a year die from the effects of smoking, being overweight or problem-drinking in the Netherlands.
 
The government aims to reduce the share of smokers and problem drinkers to 5 percent and the share of overweight people to 38 percent by 2040.