SMOKERS in Spain will be hit by the third-highest taxes in Europe, surprise research has revealed.

A whopping 78.9 per cent of the cost of each packet of cigarettes sold in Spain will go straight into the government’s coffers when IVA (value-added tax) increases next year.

The same chunk of the cost of a cigarette packet is paid in taxes in Greece, and the figure is only slightly lower in Portugal where the state takes 78.3 per cent of the price.

France takes more in taxes from the cost of a packet of cigarettes than anywhere else in Europe – more, surprisingly, than the UK, which did not figure in the list.

The French government receives 80.4 per cent of the price of each packet, which at present in France is in region of five euros.

Ireland is not far behind, with 79.4 per cent of the cost going in duties.

Spain’s figures were based on the average price of a packet of Fortuna, the most-sold brand of cigarettes in the country.