Cyprus joins 11 other EU member states in opposing the European Commission’s plan to dramatically increase tobacco taxes, as officials warned the move could worsen the country’s growing illicit cigarette trade, which already costs €22 million annually in lost revenue. At 29%, Cyprus has the seventh-highest smoking rate in the EU.
The proposal, discussed at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Luxembourg, would nearly triple minimum excise duties on cigarettes and, for the first time, introduce EU-wide levies on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Under the plan, minimum cigarette taxes would rise from €90 to €215 per 1,000 cigarettes, pushing the price of a pack in Cyprus from €4.50 to as much as €7.50, while hand-rolling tobacco would almost double in cost. Next-generation nicotine products would face a 45% minimum tax from 2028, increasing to €88 per 1,000 units by 2032.
Cyprus already faces a mounting smuggling crisis, with illicit cigarette consumption rising to 14.3% in 2024, up from 11% the previous year—equal to 130 million illegal cigarettes consumed. Across the EU, illicit consumption reached 38.9 billion cigarettes, causing €14.9 billion in lost revenue.
