More expensive cigarettes from today: increases of up to 30 cents per packet

The first cigarette price increases decided in the last budget law 2026 are starting: from this year to 2028, prices will gradually increase. From 16 January 2026 there will be increases of up to 30 cents for Philip Morris and, for example, Marlboro cigarettes will reach EUR 6.80 per packet. Then in the coming days the Monopolies will update the price lists of the other brands as well. In 2026 alone, the Treasury will receive approximately 900 million more. Cigars and cut tobacco will also increase, but not 'heated' tobacco, such as one of the well-known brands 'Terea'. A market towards which the large multinationals are converging.

The debate is set to continue: even if the increase is less than assumed when the manoeuvre was being discussed, it should be noted that, for example, the association of oncologists has been calling for a monstrous increase of EUR 5 per packet for years. This would pay for the social cost, in terms of health care, that this bad habit entails.

But there are those who push even harder. For example, the environmental doctors of Sima. President Alessandro Miani explains: 'If we are thinking in terms of increasing taxes on goods that are harmful to health, we should consider a more comprehensive approach that takes into account a wide range of potentially harmful products. In many other countries, in fact, the idea of a 'sin tax' has been successfully applied on various products, from spirits to sugary drinks. This has not only helped to reduce the consumption of such products, but has also led to an increase in public revenue, which is used to cover the associated health costs'. And also at the European level the hypothesis is for a directive that would force member states to increase prices more decisively.

The calculations on the revenue for the Treasury are made by Assoutenti: "The manoeuvre provides for a gradual increase in the years 2026-2028 of the fixed minimum amount of excise duty on cigarettes, cigarillos and cut tobacco, and redetermines the coefficients for calculating the excise duty on heated tobacco products. Specifically, the excise duty on manufactured tobacco goes from €29.50 per 1,000 cigarettes in 2025 to €32 in 2026, and then rises to €35.50 in 2027 and €38.50 in 2028. - explains Assoutenti -. The minimum amount of excise duty on cigarettes rises from €37 to €47 per conventional kilogram for the year 2026, to €49 for the year 2027 and from the year 2028 to €51 per conventional kilogram". "According to the government's forecasts," recalls the president, Gabriele Melluso, "the increase in prices to the public for cigarettes and tobacco will guarantee 1.47 billion euro in additional revenue over the three-year period.