The price of cigarettes in the Netherlands has, as a result of tax increases, doubled in the past decade, the CBS has revealed.

Tax increases

Excise increases in both April 2012 and January 2013, along with the VAT increase in October of last year (from 19 to 21 percent), has meant that the price of cigarettes rose by 15 percent in 2012.

The price of shag tobacco has risen even more steeply than cigarettes in the past decade, also because of tax increases. The price has risen by 115 percent.

Tax is three quarters of the price

This now means that taxes account for almost three quarters of the total price of a packet of cigarettes. For example, a packet of 19 cigarettes now costs six euros, but if the tax and excise duty are removed the price would be all of 1 euro and 58 cents.