Just in time for the summer holidays, the Deutsche Zigarettenverband (DZV) has published a list of European cigarette prices, reports Austrian publication Trafikanten Zeitung.

Throughout the EU and indeed Europe as a whole, there are huge gaps between average prices for a pack of cigarettes. While one standard pack costs EUR 12.81 in Ireland, you could get four packs for the same price in Bulgaria and even end up with change.
Of course, huge differences in income are reflected in the large price gaps and also the fact that some states are using tobacco taxes to combat smoking. This in itself leads to higher cigarette prices and when prices are so different in countries that are situated next to each other, it leads to problems with smuggling and illicit products. For example, a packet of cigarettes in Germany costs EUR 6.18 on average whereas in neighbouring Poland a pack can be snapped up for EUR 3.33. Poland in turn shares a long border with Belarus where, according to the list, cigarettes are cheapest and can be bought for EUR 0.66 – one fifth of the price of the Polish prices.
Belarus may not belong to the EU, however there are plenty of examples here as well. While in France a pack of cigarettes costs EUR 9.70, one can buy two packs for less across the border in Luxembourg. The same goes for Norway where prices are twice those of neighbour Sweden’s and Finland where neighbouring Estonia’s cigarette prices are 50 per cent cheaper, according to Trafikanten Zeitung.
The higher the cross border price difference, the more attractive it is to the black market. Thus, it comes as no surprise that France limited the allowed import of cigarettes from 800 to 200 pieces last year.