ISTANBUL, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The prices of a number of cigarette brands in Türkiye increased by three Turkish liras (9 U.S. cents) per pack on Wednesday, following successive hikes implemented by various brands over the past month, according to the Monopoly Dealers' Solidarity Association.
Erol Dündar, president of the association, revealed in a post on social media platform X on Wednesday that following the latest price hike, the cheapest cigarette brands registered with the association now cost 53 liras per pack, while the most expensive one is priced at 75 liras per pack.
The recent rise in cigarette prices has become a widely discussed topic among smokers both online and offline since April.
"Though a three lira increase per pack might appear to be a small amount, it is not so for smokers," said Yagmur Sivri, a resident of Istanbul, who smokes one and a half packs of cigarettes a day and spends about 2,500 liras on smoking each month.
"Considering that millions of people in Türkiye live on a minimum wage of 17,002 liras, the latest price hikes put a very large burden on their budgets," she said.
Türkiye has long been grappling with persistently high inflation rates, which hit 69.8 percent in April.
The Monopoly Dealers' Solidarity Association plays an important role in overseeing and regulating the distribution and sale of certain goods that are subject to state monopoly, such as tobacco products. ■
