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From the beginning of May, cigarettes will increase in price by 40-50 cents per pack, the reason for this is the planned increase in excise duties on tobacco products in the 2025 budget.
This increase is the second for the year. A similar increase was already registered in January 2025, when excise duties on tobacco products were increased by about 6%. This was part of a plan adopted back in 2022, which envisaged a gradual increase in excise duties in the coming years. With the new budget, the government decided to implement the excise rates for 2026 as of May 1, 2025. Thus, the total increase in cigarette prices for this year will exceed 10%.
According to the latest data, Bulgaria is in 33rd place in the Numbeo ranking with an average price of 3.17 euros per pack of Marlboro. This puts it in the same category as Bosnia and Herzegovina, which also sells tobacco products for 3.17 euros, writes businessnovinite. The price in our country is significantly lower than those in richer European countries.
However, the prices of tobacco products in Bulgaria remain much lower compared to those in Western European countries.
For example, in the UK the average price of a pack of cigarettes reaches 17.51 euros, followed by Ireland with 16.50 euros. This is a significant price difference, which shows that in Bulgaria cigarettes are much more affordable for consumers.
According to these data, if with the money for one pack of cigarettes in the UK we can buy 5 and a half packs in Bulgaria with 20 pieces.
Usually there are 10 packs in a stack of cigarettes. This is the standard packaging for selling cigarettes in many countries. However, in some regions there may be a different number of packs in a stack, but 10 is the most common. If we sell 1 pack of cigarettes bought in Bulgaria in the UK, our profit would be 143.40 euros.
Cigarette prices:
United Kingdom – €17.51
Ireland – €16.50
Norway – €13.56
Netherlands – €12.00
France – €12.00
Iceland – €11.97
Finland – €10.20
Belgium – €10.00
Switzerland – €9.44
Denmark – €8.35
Germany – €8.20
Sweden – €6.65
Austria – €6.50
Czech Republic – €6.03
Luxembourg – €6.00
Italy – €6.00
Malta – €5.80
Estonia – €5.80
Hungary – €5.76
Spain – €5.50
Portugal – €5.50
Romania – €5.22
Slovenia – €5.20
Slovakia – €5.15
Lithuania – €5.00
Latvia – €5.00
Croatia – €4.90
Poland – €4.68
Greece – €4.60
Serbia – €3.84
Montenegro – €3.60
Albania – €3.55
Bulgaria – €3.17
Bosnia and Herzegovina – €3.17
Kosovo (disputed territory) – €3.00
Moldova – €2.84
North Macedonia – €2.68
Russia – €2.30
Ukraine – €2.28
Belarus – €1.70
Despite lower cigarette prices, Bulgaria remains part of the European context of high excise taxes and increasing costs for tobacco consumers.
