Poles smoke about 50 billion cigarettes a year – according to a report on stimulants prepared by the Institute of Health of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Częstochowa. That's 137 million cigarettes a day. According to the data of the National Health Test for Poles 2023, the percentage of active smokers of all tobacco products is on average 28%. About 8 million Poles regularly smoke cigarettes.
Cigarettes will become more expensive. The government increases excise tax
They may encourage smoking priceswhich are among the lowest in the European Union. At least that's what the Council of Ministers, which decided to raise, believes tax excise duty on tobacco products. “The new excise tax rates are primarily intended to limit the consumption of tobacco products and their substitutes, especially by minors,” we read in message issued on October 1 after the Council of Ministers adopted the draft act amending the Excise Duty Act.
The amount of excise duty on cigarettes will grow in leaps and bounds from 2025 to 2027. The biggest increase will take place next year. Then the excise tax rates will increase from PLN 276/1,000 pieces to PLN 345. This is an increase of 25%. In the following years, the increases will be smaller, although equally severe. In 2026, the amount of tax on 1,000 cigarettes will be PLN 414 and in 2027 – PLN 476.1. This means increases of 20 percent successively. and 15 percent
Deputy Minister of Finance Jarosław Neneman calculated in August that due to these increases, cigarette consumption will increase by almost PLN 10 per pack. – The price of a pack of cigarettes would be PLN 26-27 in 2027 – he said, quoted by Money.pl. Currently, a pack of “cigarettes” costs around PLN 17-18.
The excise tax rate on smoking tobacco alone will see an even greater increase. Next year the tax will increase by as much as 38%. You will have to pay PLN 260.14 of tax per kilogram of tobacco, instead of PLN 188.51 as before. In the perspective adopted for the coming years, this rate will continue to increase noticeably. In 2026, the tax will increase to PLN 338.18/kg and in 2027 to PLN 412.58/kg. The increases will therefore be at the level of 30%. and 22 percent
Young people smoke e-cigarettes, so the government significantly increases excise tax
“Higher tax rates will help reduce the number of youth smoking and thus ensure the health of young people,” he argues in a statement issued by the Council of Ministers. Smoking cigarettes is very popular among young people. However, young people are mainly interested in new “tobacco products”. CBOS research shows that 30 percent students aged 15-19 regularly smoke e-cigarettes, and 60 percent tried at least once. “Electronic cigarettes are produced annually by approximately one hundred million,” it was stated in the report mentioned above.
Therefore, in the coming years, liquid for electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products will be more expensive. In this case we are talking about a really big increase. Already in 2025, the excise tax on e-cigarette liquid will increase by 75%. Instead of PLN 0.55/ml, you will have to pay PLN 0.96/ml. The next years will bring increases of 50 percent. and 25 percent The excise tax rate will increase, so in 2026 to PLN 1.44/ml and in the next year to PLN 1.8/ml.
However, when it comes to heaters, the increases will be lower than in the case of liquid, but higher than in the case of traditional cigarettes. From next year, the excise duty rate will be PLN 565.52/kg. This is half as much as before (PLN 377.01/kg). In 2026, this amount will increase to PLN 678.62/kg, i.e. by 20%, and in 2027 to PLN 780.41/kg, i.e. by 15%.
This is not the end of the government's fight against tobacco
The current tax rates will be in use until February 28, 2025. The new excise tax amount will come into force only from March 1, 2025. However, the Council of Ministers has already announced that it will “take further actions regarding the market of tobacco or other similar products, aimed primarily at the safety of young people and other users.”