Fewer Cigarettes Sold in Germany

The German cigarette industry may already be feeling the pinch they’ll be experiencing next year when higher cigarette taxes go into effect: Fewer people are lighting up. According to the Federal Statistics Office, sales of cigarettes dropped by 10.9 percent in the third quarter of this year. The drop comes ahead of a planned government tax hike which will lead to an increase in the price of a pack of cigarettes from €3.10 to €4.50 starting in January 2004. The German government will use the additional revenue to help ease the strain on the country’s overburdened healthcare system.