Giant price increase since 1 March. Smokers in shock, that's the end of inexpensive cigarettes

Since 1 March 2025 Polish smokers must prepare for financial shock. The government has decided to introduce the largest increase in excise duties on tobacco products in years, which will straight translate into drastic price increases. The excise work on cigarettes increases from PLN 276 to PLN 345 per 1000 pieces, which represents a 25% increase. In practice, this means that Each pack of cigarettes will increase by 3 to 4 PLN. However, this is only the beginning of the price revolution which the Ministry of Finance has planned for the coming years. The aim is not only to fight addiction, but above all to importantly increase gross to the state budget. The Ministry of Finance prepared a precise schedule, which assumes systematic increases until 2027, effectively ending the era of comparatively inexpensive smoking in Poland.

The rise hits everyone. Cigarettes, tobacco and e-liquides up

Not only conventional cigaret smokers will feel price changes. The government has ensured that the increase covers all categories of tobacco products, including those that have been seen for years as a cheaper alternative. Those who turn cigarettes themselves will endure a peculiarly severe blow. Excise on Turn tobacco increased by 38%, reaching the level of PLN 260.14 per kilo. For many people this means definitive End of “saving smoking”which is no longer profitable.

The increases besides missed another products. fresh higher rates of excise work besides included cigars, cigarillos and tobacco warmers. The rulers leave no illusions – anyone who reaches for nicotine in any form will gotta scope deeper into his pocket. It is simply a comprehensive strategy to seal the taxation strategy and discourage Poles from reaching for drugs, regardless of their type.

A agenda of horrors by 2027. That's how prices will rise.

The increase of 1 March 2025 is just the first step in the long-term plan of the Ministry of Finance. The government has published a alleged road map which precisely determines how excise work rates will form in subsequent years. The plan assumes an annual, systematic increase in prices to guarantee a steady increase in budgetary revenues. Smokers must prepare for a real revolution.

Here's how the agenda of increases is presented by 2027:

• Cigarettes: The rate of excise work will increase to PLN 414 per 1000 units in 2026 and then to PLN 476,10 in 2027.
• Rotary tobacco: After this year's increase we are waiting for another – 30% in 2026 and 22% in 2027.
• Tobacco heaters: This year the rate increases by 50% and in subsequent years by 20% and 15%.
• E-liquides (liquids for e-cigarettes): Here the growth will be most felt. In 2025 excise duties increase by 75%, in 2026 by 50%, and in 2027 by another 25%.

In practice, this means that over a three-year period e-cigarettes and fresh products can get even 228%and smoking tobacco by 165%. These are not symbolic adjustments, but a fundamental change that will permanently change the tobacco marketplace in Poland.

Experts warn: the black marketplace is waiting for this

Although the government is counting on billions in budget revenue, tobacco experts are raising the alarm. In their view, specified fast and steep increases in the prices of legal products bring large risks. The main threat is The revival of illegal trafficking, meaning the alleged grey zone. past from erstwhile years shows that erstwhile the price difference between legal cigarettes and smuggled cigarettes becomes besides big, consumers are turning massively towards the black market.

The threat is peculiarly real in border regions, especially at the east border, where the most illegal tobacco products are traditionally coming from. Any increase in share grey area in the marketplace weakens the financial effects of the reform. Money, alternatively of going to the state budget, feeds criminal organizations. The manufacture has called for a more balanced and timed rise that would not make specified a strong temptation to search illegal alternatives.

Cheers or wallet? The real reason for smoking in Poland

Officially, the Ministry of Finance communicates that the aim of the improvement is to care for public health. Higher prices are intended to effectively discourage Poles from reaching for cigarettes and another nicotine products. However, economical reality shows that for many people, especially those with lower incomes, motivation will be completely different. The decision to limit or quit smoking will not consequence from wellness concerns, but from The violent financial necessity.

When a pack of cigarettes becomes a crucial burden on the household budget, the addiction goes to the background. The government has taken decisive and fast action, rejecting arguments about the request for a milder pace of change. Although long-term wellness effects may prove to be affirmative in the form of a decline in smokers, social and economical impacts, including the possible increase in smuggling-related crime, stay very unknown.