Under the updated rules, the specific excise duty on cigarettes will rise from €53.10 to €56.10 per 1,000 cigarettes, while the minimum excise duty will increase to €124.20. Fine-cut and other smoking tobacco will increase from €114.15 to €120.50/kg, heated tobacco will increase from €185.82 to €198.50/kg, cigars and cigarillos will be taxed at €120.50 per 1,000 pieces, e-liquids will be taxed at €0.20 per milliliter, and new tobacco products will be taxed at €120.50/kg.

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Under the draft, the specific excise duty on cigarettes will rise from €53.10 to €56.10 per 1,000 cigarettes, and the minimum duty will increase to €124.20. Taxes on fine-cut tobacco, cigars, heated tobacco, and new tobacco products will also go up.

E-liquids, previously untaxed, will now be charged at €0.20 per milliliter.

The government expects to raise an additional €74.7 million, citing both fiscal benefits and public health goals, including reduced smoking rates and compliance with WHO guidelines.

Public consultation is currently underway.

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For such an offense, businesses can be fined €19,908, putting extra pressure on an industry struggling to stay afloat.

“Why all these checks now, and why such steep fines?” said Željko Pojer, president of the Požega Craftsmen’s Association and a nightclub owner. “The nightlife in Croatia has been dying for a while. A total smoking ban would bring hospitality to its knees. If a full ban comes in, most of us will have to shut down and let our staff go.”

Last year, the European Commission floated the idea of banning smoking in outdoor spaces too, but hospitality and hotel sectors pushed back hard, and the proposal fizzled out. Pojer argues that the industry’s survival hinges on flexibility, not stricter rules.

“When we brought in our smoking ban years ago, everyone saw it wouldn’t work,” he said. “Businesses collapsed. That’s why we got these exceptions for smoking areas.” 

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Tobacco use, however, is creating a boon for the country. The research indicated that 20% of the users were spending upward of €4.50 per day on the taxed products. In addition, Hrvatski Duhani, a BAT subsidiary located in Virovitica, reported buying more than 4,500 tons of tobacco from 250 local growers last year for more than €20 million, an increase of 41% from two years earlier. 

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The study showed that 37 percent of people used tobacco products in January of this year, four percentage points higher than the previous year. In two years, the number of tobacco users has increased by 12 percent.

Of all tobacco users, 74 percent smoke cigarettes, an increase of 6 percent from January 2023.

Hrvatski Duhani, a BAT-owned company, purchased more than 4,500 tonnes of tobacco last year from 250 growers in the Podravina and Slavonia regions, marking a 41 percent increase from 2023. According to Hrvatski Duhani, the company paid tobacco producers more than €20 million last year.

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