The number of cigarettes sold in France in 2016 fell by 1.2 percent to 44.92 billion. In value, the drop was 1.1 percent to €15.17 billion, according to figures from Logista France.

With a price rise looming in 2017, a further reduction is expected. A price-fixing order setting the new price for cigarettes is expected be published in France’s Official Journal within the next few days.

The only sector to record an increase is rolling tobacco, which recorded an increase of 0.43 percent in volume, to 9.28 billion units, in 2015. Rolling tobacco “is on the increase because it represents a legal alternative for smokers who can no longer afford to buy cigarettes, which have become too expensive,” a source in the sector who wished to remain anonymous told AFP.

Most of the cost of cigarettes is taken up by taxes, at 80 percent, while less than nine percent goes to the tobacconist and the balance to the manufacturer.

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