Revealed: The countries where you can get cigarettes for less than €1

Prices rise in latest Budget

Amy Molloy

With Budget 2017 increasing the price of cigarettes by 50c, Ireland is now one of the most expensive countries in the world to buy tobacco.

At €11 for a packet, Ireland is the second dearest country in Europe to purchase cigarettes – with Norway being the highest at €12.

However, there are some countries in the world where you can get a packet of Marlboro cigarettes for less than €1.

In the Ukraine, you can buy a 20 packet of Marlboro for €0.85 cent, while in Moldova you can get them for €0.95 and in Belarus for €0.94.

Expatistan, the website which compares the cost of living in thousands of cities all over the world, also reveals the price of Marlboro cigarettes in the following countries:

Country Price
France €7.00
Malta €5.30
Spain €4.91
Greece €3.96
Poland €3.56
Croatia €3.38
Turkey €3.23
Latvia €3.13
Albania €2.12
Russia €1.61

Irish smokers once again feel hard done by the Budget, with the price of cigarettes increasing by €1 over the last year.

Smokers’ rights group, Forest Ireland, has come out and said that the only people who benefit from a hike in cigarette prices are criminals.

Their spokesman John Mallon yesterday said:

“The price increase is great news for the criminal classes because they will sell more and more tobacco now as a result. It’s a product in demand.

“In Brussels, the price of 20 cigarettes is €5. In Dublin, it’s now going to be €11. We’re completely out of step with our European counterparts. We have the most expensive cigarettes in the EU. That’s not a boast. The Government should be ashamed of themselves.”

He further added that increasing the price will not deter people from smoking.

“You could raise the price of a small car to €150k but people would still drive cars. So you can raise the price of cigarettes, and people will still smoke. It’s that simple. Health is a private matter between ourselves and our GP. It has nothing to do with the Government,” he told the Evening Echo in Cork.