Smoking has become more expensive: You can save up to 10 thousand by escaping from cigarettes!

As part of the consolidation package, the government has prepared an amendment to the Excise Tax Act, which once again makes classic cigarettes more expensive. Since March, the price of a box on store shelves has risen by an average of five crowns. The constantly increasing price thus becomes one of the main factors why smokers switch more and more often to so-called nicotine alternatives. Although excise duty is also applied to IQOS and GLO heated tobaccos, they still bring significant savings.

By how much?

While a pack of classic cigarettes costs around 150 crowns, refills for IQOS (Terea and Heets) only 121 CZK, refills for GLO (veo and neo) are more than fifty crowns cheaper.

They reduce risks

In this way, the state reflects the harmfulness of smoking and the costs associated with its health effects. According to available scientific studies, nicotine alternatives have a demonstrably lower effect on human health. And this is exactly what their lower rate of taxation should correspond to in the future compared to classic cigarettes. For example, in the case of switching to heated fillings, savings can amount to ten thousand crowns per year.

850 crores in the crusher

They are flawless and have not even expired. But… When the consumption tax rate changes, cigarettes have to be disposed of because of the old stamp. Every year, 850 million pieces, i.e. about 42.5 million boxes, end up in the crusher and then in the incinerator. To give an idea, this amount is five percent of the total annual sales. The mixture of tobacco, paper and plastic from the boxes is landfilled and eventually incinerated, producing over 4,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

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Economist Lukáš Kovanda: The state collects less

And why is it still increasing? “This year, there is a risk that the Ministry of Finance will not be able to “hit” the expected benefit of the consumption tax on tobacco products for the fourth year in a row. Although the tax rate, and therefore the final price for customers, is growing significantly from year to year, the state collects less. Last year’s total collection was lower than the year before. And the budget deficit was dizzying, contrary to the ministry’s assumption – twelve billion crowns last year alone,” explained Trinity Bank chief economist Lukáš Kovanda.