I used to smoke for years, then I didn’t smoke for seven years. When flavored cigarettes started being sold, I began smoking again… That was sometime around 2016. For the first two years, my smoking was more occasional — I was trying out different kinds of flavored cigarettes. I developed a liking for menthol Marlboros and started smoking them more actively around 2018.
Maybe smoking was normalized for me even more by Charlotte de Witte. At that time, I was listening to Charlotte de Witte constantly. I liked her modern techno and also the values she brought into techno — not underground, but mainstreaming. Charlotte de Witte also visibly liked smoking, and I told myself that I could enjoy it in a similar way too.I perceived my renewed smoking as a kind of game; I saw cigarettes as lollipops. When flavored cigarettes were banned, I switched to Marlboro Gold, which I still enjoy to this day. If these cigarettes didn’t exist, I would probably quit smoking, because I don’t enjoy other ones. I even have a problem with Marlboro Reds.
In relation to Western countries, I sometimes hear Czechs say that cigarettes in the West are overpriced. But this isn’t true when you consider wages in Western Europe versus the Czech Republic.
Before I say anything about prices, I’d like to point out that in countries like the Netherlands, cigarettes are less accessible than in the Czech Republic. They are sold only in licensed shops; in these shops they must be hidden, all cigarette packs have the same dark-colored packaging, and unlike in the Czech Republic, they are not commonly accessible to minors.
The price of cigarettes is often judged simply by how much a pack costs in a shop. But this perspective is misleading. The real cost of smoking doesn’t arise from the price tag, but from the relationship between income, accessibility, and market regulation. That’s exactly why a paradoxical feeling can emerge that cigarettes in different countries cost “roughly the same,” even though their nominal prices differ significantly.
At first glance, the difference is obvious: in the Netherlands, a pack of cigarettes costs significantly more than in Czechia. But the absolute price says nothing about the real burden. What matters is what percentage of a typical income a smoker gives up for cigarettes. And here, the differences start to blur.
In a country with higher wages, even a more expensive pack becomes a relatively bearable expense. In contrast, in a country with lower incomes, a cheaper pack can be just as painful for the budget — or even more so.
If we take basic wages or average income into account, we find that a smoker in Czechia often spends a comparable share of their monthly budget as a smoker in Western Europe. The difference is that in Czechia, there is less room left after covering basic expenses.
Cigarettes therefore paradoxically appear cheaper to a Czech person than in Western Europe, but in reality they take a bigger bite out of disposable income in the Czech Republic, especially for people with lower wages. Smoking in Czechia can thus be relatively more expensive than the price tag alone would suggest.
Availability also plays an important role. In strictly regulated countries, cigarettes are harder to access, less visible, and under strong control. Smoking there is not impulsive. In Czechia, by contrast, cigarettes are commonly available in small shops and convenience stores, age checks are often weak, and social tolerance of smoking is higher. This leads to more frequent consumption, even though the pack is nominally cheaper. And cigarettes are easily accessible — even to young people (minors).
Price is reflected not only in money, but also in quality. In Czechia, a looser market creates space for old stock, parallel imports, and greater differences in taste. Stricter regulation means more stable quality and a smaller grey market.
When people say that cigarettes in different countries “cost roughly the same,” they’re not talking about the price on the pack, but about the feeling of accessibility. That feeling arises from a combination of price, income, regulation, and sales culture. From this perspective, cigarettes in Czechia are not as cheap as they seem — and in Western Europe, they are not as inaccessible as their price might suggest.
