Where Is Smoking Cheapest in Europe? The 2026 Ranking (and the Priciest)

In September 2026 a pack of 20 Marlboro costs €19.20 in Ireland, the most expensive country in Europe, and the equivalent of €2.24 in Turkey, according to our price database: the same product is 8.6 times more expensive in one than in the other. Outside Europe, Australia tops the whole ranking at €40.54 in October 2026. In Western Europe, Andorra remains the cheapest at €4.85. Among the European Union countries we track, it is Spain, at €6.25, ahead of Portugal (€6.50) and Poland (€6.67).

This ranking lists the 21 countries in our database, from the most to the least expensive. It then explains where the gaps come from, and what they do, or do not, allow a traveller to do.

The method: one pack, converted into euros

To compare countries that do not share a currency, we take a product that is identical everywhere: the pack of 20 Marlboro, sold in all 21 countries. Its 2026 price is converted into euros at that year's exchange rate, and for the Turkish lira, the Australian dollar, the forint and the Czech koruna at the European Central Bank reference rate. Each country page shows where the price comes from and how confident we are in it.

The method has two limits. Marlboro is not always what locals smoke: many turn to cheaper local brands. And a converted price moves with the currency: in Turkey, where the lira loses value every year, a price in euros stays accurate for only a few months.

The 2026 ranking for a pack of Marlboro

• Over €13: Australia €40.54, Ireland €19.20, United Kingdom €17.00, France €13.50, Netherlands €13.50, Belgium €13.00
• €8 to €12: Switzerland €10.19, United States €9.57, Germany €9.40, Hungary €8.05
• €5 to €8: Luxembourg €7.70, Czechia €7.56, Austria €7.00, Italy €6.80, Poland €6.67, Portugal €6.50, Spain €6.25
• Under €5: Andorra €4.85, Morocco €3.63, Tunisia €3.15, Turkey €2.24

Within the European Union alone the gap narrows to 3.1 times, between Ireland and Spain. Our country ranking also gives the average across all brands, a little below Marlboro: €13.31 in France, €2.19 in Turkey.

Since late October 2026 our database also covers Hungary and Czechia, whose prices come from official lists. In Hungary, Marlboro Red rose from 2,750 to 2,950 forints on 29 October 2026, about €8.05, just before the excise increase of 1 November: it now costs more there than in Austria (€7.00), as our article on Hungary explains. In Czechia, the pack costs 184 koruna in 2026, about €7.56, the price printed on the tax stamp.

The most expensive: Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, France

Australia takes the price approach furthest: since 1 September 2026, duty alone has reached A$1.55274 per cigarette, or A$31.05 per pack, and Marlboro costs A$64.99 at Smokemart, a national tobacconist chain, about €40.54. The downside is well documented: according to the federal Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner, the illegal market made up about 55% of the tobacco market in 2024-25 (mid-range estimate, within a 50 to 60% range), as our article on Australia explains.

In Europe, the three countries at the top have openly made price a public health tool, with repeated tax rises that are often announced years in advance. In the United Kingdom, the duty on cigarettes has stood since 1 October 2026 at 16.5% of the retail price plus £394.09 per 1,000 cigarettes, a fixed element of £7.88 per pack. A pack of Marlboro cost £14.41 there just before, about €17.00, and will rise to about £15.62 (€18.43) if this new increase is passed on in full.

France completes the European podium at €13.50, just ahead of Belgium at €13.00. The French price went up three times in three months in early 2026, as detailed in our tracker of French prices.

The cheapest in Western Europe: Andorra, Spain, Portugal

Andorra, which is not part of the European Union, sets its own taxes freely: a pack costs €4.85 there, almost three times less than in France. Within the Union, EU law imposes an excise floor of €90 per 1,000 cigarettes and at least 60% of the weighted average retail price, but no ceiling. Spain (€6.25) and Portugal (€6.50) tax far less heavily than France: a pack costs 2.2 times more in France than in Spain, as our France vs Spain comparison shows.

On Europe's doorstep: Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco

Turkey is the cheapest country in our database: 125 Turkish lira for a pack of Marlboro in September 2026, about €2.24. Light taxation is not the reason. According to the WHO, taxes made up 81.5% of the price of the best-selling pack in 2024, a level comparable to the European Union. It is the lira's slide that sets the price for a visitor: Marlboro went from 110 to 125 lira between February and August 2026, yet in euros it already cost about €2.36 in 2019.

Tunisia (€3.15, or 10.50 dinars) and Morocco (€3.63, or 39.5 dirhams) complete the bottom of the ranking. Local brands go much lower: according to our records, €0.79 for a pack of Bousetta in Tunisia and €2.36 for Gold Coast in Morocco.

Buying cheaper abroad: what customs allow

These gaps fuel cross-border shopping, but customs rules frame it. Between two EU countries, tobacco bought for personal use moves freely, with an indicative threshold of 800 cigarettes. Coming back from a non-EU country such as Turkey or Morocco, the allowance is generally 200 cigarettes for a traveller arriving by air. Several countries cut it to 40 cigarettes for arrivals by land or sea, including Bulgaria and Greece, Turkey's neighbours. Our customs guide explains these rules in detail.

The cheapest pack is still the one you do not buy. If these gaps have you doing the maths, our quit smoking guide lists the methods with proven results. In France, Tabac Info Service offers free help on 39 89.

Sources

• European Commission, tobacco excise duties: minimum of €90 per 1,000 cigarettes and 60% of the weighted average price. taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
• HM Revenue and Customs, Tobacco Duty rates: 16.5% of the retail price plus £394.09 per 1,000 cigarettes since 1 October 2026. gov.uk
• World Health Organization, share of taxes in the price of the best-selling pack in Turkey: 81.53% in 2024. who.int, GHO data
• European Central Bank, Turkish lira reference rate. ecb.europa.eu
• European Commission, Your Europe: tobacco allowances when returning from outside the EU. europa.eu
• ABF, Customs Notice 2026/32, tobacco duty from 1 September 2026. abf.gov.au
• Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner, 2024-25 report. itec.gov.au
• SZTFH, Hungarian regulator: official list of tobacco retail prices. sztfh.hu
• Czech customs, ETN register of 2026 cigarette retail prices. celnisprava.gov.cz
• 2026 prices for the 21 countries and their confidence index: our database