During January and February, the state earned €240 million in tobacco tax, an increase of €80 million in contrast to last year’s total revenue, which fell by 2.5 percent compared to 2023. The month of February saw a substantial surge in heated tobacco, which was introduced to the market in January, rising from two tonnes in 2024 to 52 tonnes this year.

Guilherme Waldemar d’Oliveira Martins, Professor of Finance at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (FDUL) and former Secretary of State, emphasised that this shift from traditional tobacco consumption to heated tobacco has no effect on overall consumption or total revenue.

The growth is attributed to an increase in revenue from traditional tobacco, which should have declined due to this substitution phenomenon but has risen from 176 million cigarettes to 471 million in January alone, almost triple that of 2024, the AT reported.

This surge in tax revenue was also influenced by the new stamp duty and the decision by some of the main to increase their prices. Statistics from “JTI Ibérica” have shown that a rise in the price of the packet would lead to an increase in the minimum tax of 1.4 percent.

Throughout the 12 months of 2024, tobacco tax revenue totalled €1,525 million, a decrease of 2.5 percent from the €1,563 million collected in 2023.