Some tobacco manufacturers have criticized on Monday the decision of Philip Morris (Marlboro) to cut down on their margins to limit the next rise in the price of packets of cigarettes in march, even as the health professionals welcome a rise in the overall “effective”.
“We can see that the leader, Marlboro has decided to crop a lot on its margins, it loses a lot of money but its will is scared of losing market share, is to compress the market,” an industry source said, wishing anonymity. According to this source, “this goes against the policy of public health since it’s going to affect the other tobacco companies not to increase their prices”.
According to the decree of registration of the award published Sunday, the pack of 20 Marlboro red and gold, which was to 7,30 euros, will increase to 8 euro. A rise of 70 cents, compared with a euro average. The number one in the French market having apparently decided to absorb part of the increased taxes. The pack of Marlboro is found at the same price of Camel (Japan Tobacco International) and Gauloise blonde (Seita, the French subsidiary of british Imperial Tobacco group Imperial Brands).
The package at 10 euros by 2020
“The market saw a real upheaval with price increases unprecedented in the last 15 years. British American Tobacco (BAT) has taken into account the stated desire of the government by operating an increase of one euro on average on its portfolio of cigarettes, which has not been the case with every industry”, also regrets Eric Sensi-Minautier, director of public affairs at BAT, fourth in the French market for tobacco companies.
According to another industry source, “it is a real concern for the industry because the price gap between premium brands and entry-range is very crushed: previously, he had 50 cents between the top and the bottom of the market, as of march 1, this would drop to 20 cents, or even equal if you compare the price of a pack of Marlboro and Camel, 8 euros every two never-before-seen”, says she. On the side of health professionals, it welcomes the fact that the generalized increase of prices. The Pr Bertrand Dautzenberg, pulmonologist at the hospital of the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris, ensures that”an increase in the price of cigarettes by 10% can lead to a decrease in sales, it is mandatory”.
The objective of the government is to bring gradually the price of a package of cigarettes to 10 euros by 2020. Tobacco is considered responsible for more than 70,000 deaths per year in France.
