French parliament committee approves cigarette hike

PARIS (Reuters) - A French parliamentary committee approved on Wednesday a measure that would add 6 percent to the price of a packet of cigarettes from next year.

The social affairs committee of the National Assembly, or lower house, adopted an amendment to the 2010 social security budget specifying a 0.6 percent hike in cigarette taxes that would lift the overall price of cigarettes by 6 percent.

The amendment was adopted ahead of a full debate on the social security budget in parliament next week.

The government has declared its intention of pushing for higher cigarette prices to discourage smokers, despite objections from bars and cafes licensed to sell tobacco, which say they have already been hard hit by indoor smoking bans.

(Reporting by Emile Picy; Writing by James Mackenzie)