Hungary once again raised the excise tax on tobacco, taking the price of a pack of cigarettes to historic heights. According to a survey, this could eventually drive many to give up cigarettes.

After failing to comply with the EU regulations on the tobacco excise tax for years, it was eventually the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) recent statement that drove Hungary to hike the tobacco tax. While the EU reasoned that by failing to reach the threshold, Hungary was distorting competition within the bloc and violating EU health protection regulations, the government said it wanted a gradual hike [...]