Top Stories from Hungary
28.1% of the adult population are current smokers
There are approximately 2.3 million current smokers in Hungary
Country profile
Data sourced:
2025.
Page updated:
2025-11-05
Smoking in Hungary
There has been an overall downwards trend for prevalence of current smokers in the general population in Hungary since 2006. 27% of Hungarians were current smokers in 2017, down from 36% in 2006. Smoking prevalence reduced steadily during the period, with the exception of 2006-2009 where there was a 2% increase. These data come from the Eurobarometer surveys, the most recent of which was carried out in 2017. In the most recent survey a total of 27,901 respondents from different social and demographic groups were interviewed face-to-face at home, in their mother tongue, across all 28 of the EU countries. The sample for each country is representative, however the sample sizes are relatively small (e.g. most countries had just over 1000 participants, but for Italy, Malta and Lithuania the sample was around 500). Nevertheless, the Eurobarometer surveys are useful as they have estimates for smoking prevalence collected over a number of years which can show trends, as described here.
17,003
Deaths
17,003 people die every year due to tobacco smoking in Hungary.
3.3 million €
Market size of NRT.
Estimated NRT market size is 3.3 million €.
Nicotine Vaping Devices
in Hungary
Hungary abides by the EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) (2014) and has added some extra regulations of its own. E-cigarettes can only be bought from tobacco shops; trading any e-cigarette product requires a license; and there is a total ban on flavoured e-liquids – all e-cigarette flavours apart from 'tobacco flavour' are banned. Vaping is prohibited anywhere where smoking is not allowed. Fines for breaking the law are reportedly heavy e.g. up to $980 for vaping in a prohibited area, up to $9,800 for a business allowing vaping indoors, and $196,000 for selling products without a license. Cross-border sales are banned. The tax on nicotine-containing fluid is capped at 55 Forints (€0.18)
Heated Tobacco Products
in Hungary
Adult using HTP prevalence is 3%.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
in Hungary
In Hungary it is legal to purchase nicotine without using NRT prescription.
Snus
in Hungary
Used in Scandinavia for more than 200 years, snus is providing smokers in Sweden and Norway with an alternative to combustible cigarettes. Find out what it is, and why it is considered a safer nicotine product in our briefing paper.
Pouches
in Hungary
Nicotine pouches are a relatively new product which can provide users of high-risk tobacco with an alternative that poses fewer risks to their health. Read more about nicotine pouches in our briefing paper
The GSTHR database is updated regularly by our team.
However, please be aware that the information we provide does not constitute legal advice.
We cannot guarantee that the information is up to date or accurate, as the regulatory status of different product
categories can change at short notice and with little publicity.
If you wish to check the legal status of use or possession of any safer nicotine product in a specific country or region,
you should verify the information independently.
If you have reason to think that the information supplied on the GSTHR is inaccurate, please contact us with details
and any references and we will rectify any errors.