The People's Assembly (the lower house of Parliament) on 5 May decided to levy taxes on tobacco to shore up the public budget.

The tobacco prices will probably range from 10 per cent for the local brands and 33 per cent for the imported luxury brands.
A package of economic measures proposed by the government to finance a 30 per cent pay rise for public-sector employees is the reason for the increase.
Egypt has 13 million smokers consuming around 85 billion cigarettes, or some 613 tonnes of tobacco annually, according to a UN report released at a recent anti-smoking seminar in Cairo. (pi)