Cigarette Prices to Jump Again

Starting in December, Germans will have to again reach deeper into their pockets to pay for a pack of cigarettes, according to the mass-circulation Bild newspaper. The price for a 19-count pack of brand-name cigarettes, such as Marlboro, will go up by 30 euro cents to €3.90 ($4.71). Cigarette machines will charge €4 for a pack. The price hike is being implemented to cover a three-step increase in cigarette taxes in Germany. The first increase took effect on March 1, causing the price for a pack to jump by 40 cents. The second increase goes into effect on December 1 and the third on September 1, 2005. According to a spokesman for British American Tobacco, sales of cigarettes fell in the first three months of this year between 6 and 7.2 percent.