Most of Luxembourg’s €1.4 billion in 2024 tobacco tax revenue came from foreign buyers, with less than 5% of the tobacco sold in the nation consumed locally. Currently, packs of cigarettes in Luxembourg cost less than €6, far below prices in neighboring France (€13) and the Netherlands (€10), attracting cross-border shoppers and smugglers.

Though not yet formalized, the WHO’s calls for price hikes on harmful products by 2035 would raise Luxembourg’s prices €3.50 per pack of cigarettes, or 60%. RTL Today said Luxembourg’s Finance Ministry is monitoring the situation.

The post EU Trying to Stop “Tobacco Tourism” first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

Luxembourg’s average cigarette pack price of €5.10 undercuts neighboring countries by up to €3, and is less than half of the cost in France.

While cigarette consumption is booming, illicit trade remains low. Fewer than 9 million cigarettes consumed in Luxembourg were illicit—just 2% of total consumption. By contrast, France’s illicit cigarette rate has climbed to 38%, among the highest in the EU, as high prices fuel a parallel underground market.

The post Luxembourg Sees 17% Surge in Cigarette Sales as Buyers Cross Border first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

A pack of 25 cigarettes in Luxembourg costs €8, whereas the same pack across the way in France costs  €15. A recent study by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies shows that the sales drop for cigarettes at the border is even more dramatic, at 46.2%. As such, French officials are petitioning the EU to level the playing field.

“Public health policies aimed at reducing tobacco consumption see their effect limited, in particular, because of the development of the parallel market,” French MP Frédéric Valletoux said in a recent motion for a resolution calling for changes to anti-smoking regulations at the European level.

“Aligning tobacco taxation across the 27 Member States would reduce price disparities and limit cross-border purchases,” according to a report on tobacco published in March 2024 by a European Parliament working group. The report acknowledged the challenges of achieving this goal, as taxation remains outside the EU’s jurisdiction, and price differences between member states continue to widen.

Another solution being pushed by the French would be to impose tobacco delivery quotas within the EU, as outlined in the World Health Organization protocol to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products. The quotas would limit tobacco deliveries to each country based on domestic consumption. For example, Luxembourg receives three billion cigarettes annually, despite its domestic consumption being only 600 million.

Luxembourg is raising the prices on the cheapest cigarettes in its market by €0.30 but otherwise isn’t likely to take more aggressive actions as its Customs and Excise Administration says cigarette sales reached 4.9 billion units in 2024, generating €1.4 billion in revenue for the country. This figure is expected to rise to €1.6 billion in 2025 and €1.9 billion by 2028.

The post France Wants EU to Raise Tobacco Taxes in Luxembourg first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

“We are adopting an approach based on observation and analysis of measures taken abroad,” the nation’s Ministry of Health said. “This enables us to assess the impact of these initiatives and to determine what further action, if any, could be envisaged in Luxembourg.”

“From a health point of view, these products contain high doses of nicotine, encouraging rapid dependence, particularly among young people, and potentially leading them to other forms of tobacco consumption.”

However, the Ministry believes that “a ban targeting disposable vapes alone would be limited in its effectiveness,” and is instead calling for a global approach that would include all electronic cigarettes and thus be “more coherent in addressing these issues.” The ministry says no studies have been carried out on the potential effect of vape sale bans in neighboring countries, and as it is, lower taxes mean that tobacco tourism is still very popular in Luxembourg.

A 2023 bill to change the law on tobacco products is currently in committee. The bill specifically concerns the withdrawal of certain exemptions for heated tobacco products and was amended to include regulation on nicotine pouches. The text aims to ban certain flavors and limit the nicotine content of these products, however, disposable electronic cigarettes are not included in the bill.

The post No Vape Ban in Luxembourg first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

The post Tax Hike Boosts ‘Tobacco Tourism’ first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

The post Tobacco Sales Boost Luxembourg Budget first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

The post Luxembourg Urged to Hike Tobacco Prices first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.

The post Luxembourg to Tax Vapes and Pouches first appeared on Tobacco Reporter.