‘Pack of cigarettes should be 60 euros to deter smokers’

Scientists from Maastricht University come to these conclusions. Trouw and AD write today about the study, for which more than 1500 smokers were asked how much they would smoke if cigarettes cost between 0 and 6 euros per cigarette.

Now a cigarette costs an average of 36 cents, about 8 euros per pack.

‘Socially desirable answers’

Only when the cigarettes become extremely expensive, about 60 euros per pack, do half of the smokers say they will stop. If a pack costs 9 euros instead of 8, only 2 percent say they will stop smoking.

“We deliberately chose this way of questioning,” researcher Cloé Geboers explains to Trouw. “If you immediately ask what price the limit is, you get socially desirable answers. Then they say a very high price – ‘you won’t get me off smoking that easily’ – or a low price.”

‘Still very affordable’

According to Geboers, the Dutch smoker is prepared to pay a hefty price. “Our results show how addicted the smokers are and that the cigarette is still very affordable in the Netherlands,” she told the newspaper. “Converted to disposable income, cigarettes are much more expensive in most countries.”