by Guisela Chiarella
A coalition of Italian health and cancer organizations has launched a campaign backing a bill that would raise the price of a packet of cigarettes by €5, a significant increase aimed at reducing smoking rates and generating new revenue for the country’s national health service.
The effort, presented this week in the Italian Senate, seeks to collect 50,000 certified signatures by next spring — the threshold required for Parliament to consider the proposal. If advanced, the measure would introduce a flat €5 excise tax on all smoking and nicotine-inhalation products, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco.
The initiative is being promoted by the Italian Association of Medical Oncology, the AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research, the Umberto Veronesi Foundation and the AIOM Foundation. Supporters describe it as a landmark step in a country where cigarette prices remain among the lowest in Europe.
“With an increase of €5 per packet, in addition to reducing the number of smokers, an estimated €12 billion would be raised for prevention,” said Mariolina Castellone, vice president of the Senate, citing projections tied to the proposal.
A Persistent Habit
Nearly one-quarter of Italian adults are regular smokers, according to figures released by the campaign’s organizers. Smoking remains widespread among young people as well: about one in five Italians between the ages of 15 and 19 smoke daily, a habit that health experts say often continues into adulthood.
“Despite the more restrictive regulations passed in recent decades, too many citizens still smoke,” the promoters said in a joint statement. They noted that smoking remains one of the most significant risk factors for cancer, and that stronger measures are needed to encourage people to quit.
Giulia Veronesi, of the Veronesi Foundation, warned that e-cigarettes may also pose serious risks. Early scientific data, she said, suggest that vaping increases the likelihood of cancer and other diseases, while nicotine exposure can draw young users toward traditional cigarettes. “A smoker loses an average of 10 years of life compared to a non-smoker,” she added.
Mounting Costs
Italian officials estimate that smoking-related illnesses cost the country roughly €24 billion annually, through both direct medical expenses and broader economic losses. Tobacco use is linked to approximately 93,000 deaths in Italy each year, mostly from cancer as well as chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
Campaigners argue that sharp price increases elsewhere in Europe have proved effective. France and Ireland, which have some of the highest cigarette prices in the region, have recorded steep declines in smoking rates. A comparable price hike in Italy, they say, could cut tobacco consumption by as much as 37 percent.
A European Outlier
Italy’s current excise tax on cigarettes is among the lowest in Europe. Maria Sofia Cattaruzza, a professor of public health at Sapienza University in Rome, noted that Italy charges €3.19 per pack, compared with €7.45 in France and €9.92 in Ireland.
Advocates of the proposal say raising taxes would make smoking prohibitively expensive for many young people, a strategy they argue is necessary to reverse long-standing trends. Any additional revenue generated, they add, could be reinvested in prevention programs and other public health initiatives.
For now, campaigners are focused on gathering the signatures needed to bring the measure before lawmakers — a process that could test Italy’s willingness to embrace one of Europe’s most aggressive anti-smoking policies.
