Cigarettes remain a bestseller in Luxembourg. According to statistics published by the ministry of finance, the country saw a spike in tobacco sales from 2017 to 2018. More than 3 billion cigarettes were sold in Luxembourg last year, the statistics show.
This number is synonymous with a 5.86% sales increase compared to 2017. Consumers also bought larger quantities of fine-cut tobacco: 3.608 tonnes (2017) grew to 3.677 tonnes in 2018.
Even though the average price for a packet of 20 cigarettes ballooned from €3,20 to €4,20 in 2018, smokers do not seem to be deterred from buying tobacco products.
Even though the minister refrained from commenting on factors that potentially played a role in sales growth, the graph above provides some answers. The average price for a pack of cigarettes is comparatively high in neighboring countries such Germany and Belgium and significantly higher in France. It should therefore come as no surprise that many smokers cross the Luxembourgish border to stock up.
The coalition government’s “fight against smoking” will be continued, finance minister Pierre Gramegna underlined on Friday.
