Tobacconists are demanding the prohibition of tobacco sales in duty-free – Le Figaro

The national president of the tobacconists Confederation also wants to restrict to two the number of packets that can bring travelers in France.

will cigarette packs disappear from duty-free shops? It is in any case far claimed the Health Minister, Marisol Touraine, the national president of the Confederation of tobacconists, Pascal Montredon Wednesday. Grievances that occur within weeks of the entry of neutral package in tobacco shops.

“We have to be consistent with the public health policy,” asserts Pascal Montredon, the Le Figaro . “We can not want to raise the price of a pack of cigarettes to ten euros, and at the same time, allow the French to buy packages that are up to two times cheaper duty-free.” The President of the Confederation also considerably restrict the number of cigarettes wish that the French can bring travel. “We must impose a more restrictive quota to two packets per person today against two cartridges,” says Pascal Montredon.

For the latter, if tobacco is considered “dangerous”, he can not move freely. The national president of the Confederation of tobacconists and requires a “border security” and the tobacco leaves the Schengen Agreement in order to “place of customs barriers’.

If the Confederation of tobacconists alleges that the aim of his claims is health, it seems primarily economic. Cigarette sales increased 1.6% in 2015 (after falls of 5.3% in 2014 and 7.6% in 2013), according to data of Logista, the company specializes in the distribution of products smoking.

France has about 26,000 tobacconists, but 800 to 1,000 tobacco shops are closing each year, according to Pascal Montredon. “For 3000 fewer jobs per year is considerable,” says National President of the Confederation of tobacconists. For one, this is the result of the rise of the Internet and sales abroad. “A quarter of sales are made abroad or from the mafia networks,” he says.