66Second, as far as concerns the appropriate nature of the contested measure, it must be stated that the prohibition on marketing and sales of packets of cigarettes after March of the year following that in which they were released for consumption has the effect of removing any incentive for economic operators to release excessive quantities of tobacco products in anticipation of a future increase of excise duty, because they will be obliged to remove unsold packets from the market after that period. To the contrary, the absence of contested measure would prevent or delay the future increase in the rate of excise duty from taking effect, which gives rise generally to an increase in the retail sale price of packets of cigarettes.
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