THEY are to Spain what Gauloises are to France. The blue and white packets of Ducados traditionally have been the cigarettes of choice for everyone from los famosos to the man in the street.
The brands are popular, too, with British and French “tobacco tourists”, who stock up with Ducados and other cheap cigarettes while on holiday in Spain.
Yet the brand may be about to lose some of its appeal. Altadis, the Spanish manufacturer, is to raise its price. The price of Ducadaos rubios, “blonde cigarettes”, will go up by 29 per cent.
In a country that has some of the cheapest cigarettes in Europe, after Greece and Portugal, this will mean that the cost of a packet of 20 cigarettes will rise only from €1.35 (90p) to €1.75 — but nonetheless this could mark the demise of cheap cigarettes in Spain.
Altadis, which bought the Gauloises brand last year, will also raise the price of the French cigarettes by 10 per cent to €2.70.
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The company’s move to increase prices in Spain comes after the Government said last week that it would raise the tax on low-price cigarettes to deter people from smoking. Taxes on the cheapest brands, which sell on average for €1.80, will increase by 0.1 per cent.
Under European Union law, Spain could not impose higher prices on companies directly. However, it was expected that tobacco companies would pass on the higher costs to smokers.
Altadis, which is based in Alicante, yesterday became the first Spanish company to raise its prices. The reaction was swift from the 30 per cent of Spaniards who smoke.
Alvaro Garrido, director of Smokers for Tolerance, attacked the Government’s tax rise and the price increases introduced by Altadis. “This shows a lack of respect towards ten million smokers who already pay a high enough rate of tax,” he said.
Spain introduced one of the toughest anti-smoking laws in Europe on January 1. The changes were introduced to force Spaniards to stub out a habit that kills 50,000 people a year — the single largest cause of avoidable death in the country.
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Under the new laws, smoking at work and in many other public areas was banned. Restaurants and bars that are more than 1,076 sq ft must provide non-smoking areas. Tobacco sales have been restricted, with newsagents prohibited from selling cigarettes and cigars.
Local smokers reacted to the changes by taking advantage of the country’s cheap cigarettes. Sales of the cheapest brands of cigarettes increased by 17 per cent, compared with 7 per cent during the same period last year.
Tastes changed because women prefer blonds
DUCADOS are so much a part of Spanish culture that their popularity has mirrored social change.
Traditionally, the strong Ducados negros were smoked by men. As more women joined the workforce in and after the 1960s, the black cigarettes became less popular because many women did not like the bad taste that they left in the mouth. The lighter rubio (blond) Ducados were launched and have become more popular than the negros.
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Although 30 per cent of Spaniards smoke, the habit is on the decline because of health worries. Yet a peculiar sense of picardia (naughtiness) drives many to smoke in places where it is now illegal.