Cigarettes

Demand for cigarettes in Australia continued to decline in 2023. The country has one of the lowest smoking rates in the OECD, with just 10% of people over the age of 15 years being daily smokers, in contrast to the OECD average of 16%. Incidence…

Cigarettes saw volume sales fall significantly in Ecuador in 2023. The illicit market continued to deepen its penetration within the Ecuadorian market during the year. The high tax levied on the legal industry has caused a substantial price gap…

Despite continuously rising prices, cigarettes in Croatia saw a further increase in retail volume sales in 2023, albeit a moderate upturn and significantly slower than in 2021 and 2022. Croatia is one of the rare EU markets that is seemingly showing…

In 2023, cigarettes in Bolivia witnessed a notable surge in the presence of smuggled brands. These products, previously predominant in provinces and rural areas, made significant inroads into urban markets, particularly in kiosks, popular markets,…

A worsening economic situation in 2023 had a significant effect on cigarettes in the Czech Republic. While lower than in 2022, the rate of inflation in the Czech Republic remained high, exerting upward pressure on production and transportation costs…

Cigarettes saw volume sales decline in France in 2023. Legal sales of cigarettes were forced to take another backseat in 2023. Having seen no tax increase in 2022 (the immediate post-pandemic period), taxes rose again in 2023, which resulted in a…

Volume sales of cigarettes in Finland continued to decline in 2023. Finns are very aware of the harmful impact of smoking, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is a clear polarisation taking place between those who smoke and…

Retail volumes sales of cigarettes in Denmark continued to see a double-digit decline in 2023. This performance fits with a general downward trajectory in the smoking prevalence for cigarettes in the market, as taxation, health and wellness trends…

In 2023, sales of cigarettes in Colombia returned to a declining trend following a slight increase in the year prior. The downward trend is not only caused by lower smoking prevalence, but the shift towards alternatives like e-vapour products.…

In 2023, Canada saw a significant decline in the production of traditional cigarettes, with January marking the third lowest monthly production on record. This decrease in production capacity in the tobacco manufacturing industry marks part of the…

Cigarette consumption in Bulgaria recorded a marginal decline in 2023. The switch to alternative products among younger adults, such as heated tobacco products and single use cigarettes, has become very popular over the last year. Millennials and Gen…

Smoking prevalence in Bosnia and Herzegovina has continued to decline throughout the review period, a trend that persisted into 2023, exerting a downward pressure on cigarette consumption. This decline is attributed to a growing number of…

There was some volume growth of cigarettes in Azerbaijan in 2023. While the government has imposed policies to reduced prevalence, including increasing excise taxes, banning advertising and imposing restriction on smoking in public places, smoking…

In 2023, the retail value sales of cigarettes in Austria continued their downward trajectory, dropping below pre-COVID-19 volume sales levels of 2019. During the pandemic, cigarette consumption had seen a temporary boost due to increased consumption…

In 2023, cigarette sales in Argentina experienced a notable retraction, primarily driven by the country’s ongoing economic crisis, which significantly impacted consumer purchasing power. The weakening economy led to a moderate decline in cigarette…

Cigarettes in the US saw declines in both retail volume and current value terms in 2023. High inflationary pressure led to increased consumer spending on groceries, entertainment, fuel, and more, ultimately negatively impacting the consumption of…

With mobility returning to pre-COVID levels, the frequency of consumption occasions has increased. This has led to the fastest volume growth in a decade, primarily driven by India's sizable population of working individuals. As of 2022, according to…

The long-term trend of declining volume sales of cigarettes continued in 2022, with consumers increasingly aware of the levels of harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke. Cigarettes posted negative performances in both retail volume and current value…

Since the pandemic, an increasing number of Mexicans have become more aware of health and self-care, encouraging them to take greater interest in leading healthier lifestyles, improving their diets, exercising more frequently, and aspiring to have…

In 2022, cigarettes in Brazil observed a sustained shift in consumer preference, as economy cigarettes gained share from mid-priced cigarettes. This change can be attributed to growing price sensitivity amongst consumers, and their perception of…

Retail volume sales of cigarettes in Nigeria declined marginally in 2022. This was mainly because steep increases in unit prices gave many smokers a greater incentive to quit or cut down, particularly as high inflation eroded purchasing power and…

Cameroon was not as affected by the energy crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine as many other countries. Rising global energy prices in 2022 gave a boost to government coffers and helped stabilise the economy. However, ongoing civil conflict, as…

Retail volume sales of cigarettes decreased in 2022. In general, demand dropped due to higher taxes, as well as customer migration amongst traditional smokers, to other products, but also cheaper cigarettes brands. Meanwhile, many young consumers of…

Retail volume sales of cigarettes continued declining in 2022 and at a faster rate than during the previous year. Consumers are already aware of the threat posed by smoking, but the pandemic created a more immediate threat which served as further…

Retail volume sales of cigarettes generated positive growth during 2022, despite the declines seen in smoking prevalence in the country over the course of the year. The main reason for this seemingly anomalous situation is the significant decline…

Cigarette sales in Ireland registered significant volume declines in 2022, as a result of a return to pre-pandemic levels of international travel, which saw cross-border and duty-free sales increase once more. This trend, which has been seen across…

Cigarettes recorded a strong unit volume decline in 2022, losing around a fifth of their sales in this year. However, given the backdrop in the country during 2022, cigarettes could actually be said to have showed a slightly better performance than…

Some smokers have been switching to cheaper brands of cigarettes in order to reduce their expenditure on these products. This was being driven by the reduction in purchasing power as a result of the high inflation rates being seen in the Netherlands,…

In 2022, the cigarettes category saw the continuation of the trend seen throughout the review period and registered a decline in volume sales. This trend is due to the rise in consumer health consciousness and the fall in the number of smokers. It…

There is a high level of illegal trade/counterfeit tobacco products in Kenya, especially cigarettes. These products manage to enter the country through porous borders and continuously pose a challenge to local manufacturers while damaging the overall…

Following a period of decline, retail volume sales of cigarettes showed a more positive trend in 2022. This was supported in part by a rise in the Uzbek population as well as a rise in immigrants from Russia. The war in Ukraine led to the…

It was a negative year for cigarettes in 2022, with a significant fall in volume sales and with illicit sales accounting for over a quarter of volume sales – a figure that has been increasing since 2020. This was in spite of smoking prevalence…

The Taiwanese authorities continue to be active in discouraging the usage of tobacco products via both health campaigns and enforceable restrictions that limit consumers’ smoking occasions. Moreover, under new laws the legal smoking age will be…

Several factors contributed to a significant drop in volume sales of cigarettes in 2022. Smoking prevalence is gradually declining as authorities’ efforts to stem smoking are bearing fruit. In addition, in 2022, inflation was high, caused by global…

Retail volume sales of cigarettes in Turkey declined sharply in 2022. The contraction was mainly due to spiralling inflation fuelled by the depreciation of the lira, the global recovery from the pandemic and the fallout of Russia’s invasion of…

Illicit trade of cigarettes is a very significant issue, with more than half of volume sales in 2022 believed to be from illicit channels. The problem has become even more acute since 2020. One reason for the increased appetite for illicit cigarettes…

Sweden’s smoking population is extremely low by European and indeed global standards, with numbers continuing to decline in 2022 as consumers transition away from cigarettes. This translated into another year of decline for cigarettes, at least in…

Volume sales increased significantly in 2022, in spite of high inflation stemming from the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. Part of the reason for the increased consumption of cigarettes was high stress levels, due to the uncertain…

In 2022, there was a further fall in volume sales. Twice yearly tax hikes on cigarettes, which are scheduled to continue until 2025, are making cigarettes very expensive. This was on top of high inflation in 2022, which was caused by an energy…

Retail volume growth in 2022 was boosted by a recovery in socialising following the total elimination of COVID-19 restrictions in March of the same year. The elimination of restrictions was brought about by a substantial reduction in COVID-19…

Although smoking prevalence continued to decline in Portugal, despite the gradual shift to non-combustible products, retail volume and current value sales increased in 2022. The recovery of tourism in the aftermath of the pandemic supported a rebound…

Although smoking prevalence among the local population continued to decline in 2022, retail sales of cigarettes continued to rise in value and volume terms. The ongoing decline of illicit cigarettes has boosted retail volume sales in Poland, with…

In 2022, the retail volume sales of cigarettes experienced a decline in Norway as a result of the reopening of borders and the resumption of cross-border trade, particularly with Sweden. The popularity of tobacco products in cross-border trade and…

Cigarettes continued to decline in volume terms in 2022 as a result of the trend of waning smoking prevalence. The generational shift has contributed to enhancing the influence of the increasingly prominent health and wellness trend, which is driving…

After an increase in the Internal Consumption Tax (TIC) on tobacco in January 2021, there was a rise in April 2021 and further increase in January 2023, building on the increase from 2020. This had a particularly pronounced effect on volume sales of…

In 2022, there was a significant fall in volume sales. Authorities in Kazakhstan have been implementing tough anti-tobacco policies and these are bearing fruit, with smoking prevalence falling in 2022. A further rise in excise duty was another…

The tobacco industry in Israel has seen consistent price increases over the review period. In 2022, the price of a cigarette package increased by NIS1, and there was an additional NIS1 increase in January 2023.

Retail volume sales of cigarettes rose, but only very marginally, in 2022. Following over a decade of strong retail volume sales decline, the category is starting to show signs of stabilisation. However, the competition with heated tobacco remained…

In spite of the efforts of incumbent players to put forward cost containment measures in order to retain prices as much as possible, 2022 proved to be a challenging year for cigarette industry players. With the higher excise taxes in 2022, cigarette…

British American Tobacco Plc (BAT) maintains its company lead (in both NBO and GBO terms) in cigarettes, while Marlboro Red from Philip Morris International Inc (PMI) is the top brand, with Marlboro variants pipping BAT’s Dunhill Carlton to the post.…