Tobacco

Novel tobacco heating devices and accompanying heated tobacco sticks saw further expansion in 2022. In addition to the Phillip Morris International IQOS system, which arrived on the scene in 2017, the same company introduced a lower-cost system at…

Although the category has seen a substantial recovery since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, cigars are purchased by relatively few Guatemalans. The majority of cigars are imported which limits supply and distribution in the country. At the same…

In 2022, the return of foreign tourists supported a recovery in cigars and cigarillos, although retail volume and current value sales remained well below pre-pandemic levels. North American tourists are a key consumer base for cigars and cigarillos…

Smoking prevalence continues to decline in Guatemala as more consumers quit entirely or migrate to smokeless tobacco alternatives. Fiscal pressure on cigarettes remains high driving up the retail price per pack, which is too costly for many…

High inflation impinged on Costa Rican household budgets in 2022, prompting more consumers to trade down to cheaper cigarette brands. Often, the more economical options are illegal cigarettes that come from India and South Korea via the Colón Free…

In a year marked by 30-year-high inflation rates, the tobacco industry showed resilience in 2022, as most categories managed to see growth, despite a slowdown of the Chilean economy and a strong increase in contraband, which continued to hit…

E-vapour products have become extremely popular in Chile, finding a solid consumer base amongst people in their 20s and 30s. Small specialist stores and informal online sellers have taken advantage of this trend, promoting an important increase in…

Like cigars, cigarillos is a niche category in Chile. These are considered speciality products, available only to a small segment of the population, despite the high smoking prevalence in Chile. As such, until 2021, sales of cigarillos were below a…

Probably the biggest development in the Chilean tobacco industry in 2022 was the explosive increase in sales of illicit products. According to a study carried out by British American Tobacco (BAT) and the MIDE Centre from the Catholic University of…

In line with the economic crisis, cigarette consumption showed a third consecutive year of moderate retail growth, driven by the trade down from premium to mainstream brands and from mid-term price brands to economy options. As illicit trade saw a…