Guide
Roll-your-own tobacco versus factory-made cigarettes: what the terms mean
"Cigarettes" and "roll-your-own" (RYO) are distinct legal categories in EU and Portuguese tobacco law, with different labelling rules and different tax treatment. This guide explains the terminology; it does not compare the two as better or worse.
Last checked: September 2026
In short
A cigarette, in EU law, is a tobacco roll ready to smoke as manufactured; roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco is a cut, loose tobacco sold by weight that the consumer rolls into a cigarette using papers and, often, a filter. Both fall under the EU Tobacco Products Directive and are subject to the same categories of health warning and the same ban on "light"/"mild"-type descriptors, but they are taxed differently under the EU Tobacco Taxation Directive — cigarettes carry a specific-plus-ad-valorem excise per 1,000 units, while RYO is taxed per kilogram — and RYO packets carry a mandatory minimum weight of 30 grams. TabacoLisboa's current catalogue lists factory-made cigarettes only.
Key points
- Cigarettes are ready-made; roll-your-own tobacco is loose, sold by weight, for hand-rolling.
- Both are subject to the same EU health-warning and anti-descriptor rules.
- RYO packets have a legal minimum weight of 30g; cigarette packs have a legal minimum count of 20.
- Cigarettes and RYO tobacco are taxed under different bases (per 1,000 units versus per kilogram).
- LUME's current catalogue lists factory-made cigarettes only.
How the two categories are defined
EU tobacco legislation treats cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco as separate product categories within "tobacco products for smoking". A cigarette is manufactured and sold ready-formed with its own filter, wrapped in cigarette paper. RYO tobacco is sold loose or shredded, in pouches typically weighing 30g, 40g or 50g, for the consumer to roll by hand or with a rolling device, using separate cigarette papers and, optionally, separate filter tips.
Labelling: shared rules, different specifics
Both categories must carry combined picture-and-text health warnings and are subject to the same ban on misleading descriptors under Article 13 of Directive 2014/40/EU. RYO packets, though, carry a specific general warning wording set out for smoking tobacco other than cigarettes and cigarettes for hand-rolling, and the minimum unit-packet weight for RYO is 30 grams (versus a minimum unit-packet count of 20 for cigarettes) — both are directive-level minimums designed to keep warnings legible on the packaging.
Taxation: per-unit versus per-kilogram
Under the EU Tobacco Taxation Directive (2011/64/EU), cigarettes are taxed with a combination of a specific excise duty per 1,000 cigarettes and an ad valorem duty on the retail price, subject to an EU-wide minimum. Fine-cut tobacco for rolling cigarettes is taxed under its own minimum rate structure, expressed per kilogram, and Portugal, like other member states, sets its national rates within those EU floors via the Código dos Impostos Especiais de Consumo (CIEC). The different tax base is one reason cigarettes and RYO tobacco are priced and packaged differently, quite apart from any difference in how they are consumed.
What LUME currently lists
TabacoLisboa's visible catalogue currently covers factory-made cigarettes only. If that changes, any rolling-tobacco listing would follow the same labelling and terminology rules described here — nothing in this guide should be read as implying availability of roll-your-own tobacco through the current catalogue.
Common questions
- Is roll-your-own tobacco taxed the same as cigarettes in Portugal?
- No. EU and Portuguese excise rules tax cigarettes per 1,000 units (specific plus ad valorem) and RYO tobacco per kilogram, under separate minimum-rate structures.
- Does LUME sell roll-your-own tobacco?
- The current catalogue lists factory-made cigarettes only.
- What is the minimum pack weight for roll-your-own tobacco in the EU?
- EU law sets a 30-gram minimum unit-packet weight for roll-your-own tobacco.
Sources
This page is general information about Portuguese rules and Lisbon practice, not legal advice. Rules change; check the sources for the current text. Tobacco is for adults 18 and over.