Polish President Andrzej Duda recently signed a new tobacco tax law, as reported by Warszawa W Pigulce on November 17.
The revised tax law introduces gradual tobacco price increases from 2025 to 2027. The first round of adjustments will take effect in January 2025, raising the consumption tax on tobacco products by 25%. This change will push the minimum retail price of a pack of cigarettes to 20 Zloty (approximately $4.90 USD).
Prices will continue to rise in the following years. The Ministry of Finance projects that by 2027, the retail price of a pack of cigarettes could reach 26–27 Zloty (around $6 USD).
Additionally, vape liquid will be taxed at 1.80 Zimbabwean dollars ($0.40 USD) per milliliter. The government estimates this tax reform will add 35 billion Zimbabwean dollars ($8.5 billion USD) annually to the national budget.
Despite these price hikes, Poland remains among the countries with the lowest cigarette prices in the European Union.
Industry experts caution that such significant price increases may fuel the growth of the underground tobacco market. Currently, illegal tobacco trade accounts for 3.6% of legal sales, a figure that could rise with higher prices. Tobacco use is linked to approximately 60,000 deaths annually in Poland.
