Tobacco prices in the Netherlands have gone up by an average of almost 20% this year, as the government moves towards its goal of a €10 packet of cigarettes.

The 2020 increase is down to two tax increases, taking the price of a packet of cigarettes to around €8.20. A further rise, of 12 cents, will take place on January 1, 2021.

Some 22% of the Dutch population still smoke and 35,000 people in the Netherlands a year die from the effects of smoking, being overweight or problem drinking.

The Nationaal Preventieakkoord, a government prevention programme, aims to bring back the number of smokers and problem drinkers to 5% and the number of overweight people to 38% by 2040.