Cigars, Cigarillos and Smoking Tobacco

The market for cigars, cigarillos, and smoking tobacco in Egypt witnessed only modest growth in volume terms in 2023, thanks to disruption to supply chains, which led to shortages at a retail level. This resulted in many smokers reducing their…

Historically, fine cut tobacco has benefited from consumer preference shifts from cigarettes, with the category being viewed as a cheaper alternative. Traditionally, when higher taxes drove up unit prices of cigarettes, consumers looking for more…

The market for cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Finland showed a mixed performance in 2023. On a positive note, cigars managed to maintain the broadly positive growth trend which had been in evidence since the start of the pandemic. The…

In January 2023 a display ban on tobacco products and the expansion of smoke-free spaces came into force with this having a significant an impact on sales of cigars, cigarillos, and smoking tobacco in Mexico. The law includes all tobacco-derived…

Volume sales of cigars have been growing at steady rates in Colombia since the COVID-pandemic, with further double-digit volume growth witnessed in 2023. Smoking cigars is not a cultural tradition in Colombia, with most cigars imported from Cuba and…

Volume sales of cigars and cigarillos continued to decrease in Austria in 2023, but at a significantly slower rate than cigarettes. Demand for these products experienced a strong push during the pandemic, and volume sales for both cigars and…

There was a significant increase in volume sales of cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Georgia in 2023. This was partly due to an increase in population, as there were increased numbers of immigrants from Russia, as a result of the war in…

According to government data, the import of cigars and cigarillos during 2019 to 2023 increased significantly with 184% growth in volume. The growth of year-to-year got eased in 2023 as the traveling resumed since the fourth quarter 2022.…

Sales of cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Morocco continued rising in 2023, following 2022’s rebound prompted by the reopening of cafés and bars, and the surge in tourism. These products are mainly consumed in on-trade outlets, which account…

Cigars and cigarillos saw volume sales fall in Spain in 2023, though smoking tobacco volumes rose significantly during the year. Fine cut tobacco continued to register significant growth in the final year of the review period. Demand continued to…

In 2023, cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Cameroon recorded steady growth in volume terms. Despite the ban imposed by the Ministry of Trade in 2022, pipe tobacco continued to enjoy demand in 2023, primarily fuelled by its association with…

Demand for cigars and cigarillos remained low in Algeria in 2023, with volume sales falling. The non-existence of local production combined with the restrictions on imports and local currency depreciation all dampened demand. Therefore, volume sales…

Cigars and cigarillos in Singapore saw a retail volume decline in 2023. However, this followed a huge spike in sales in 2022. The dynamic volume growth in 2022 was due to increased footfall to Singapore’s casinos, due to heightened restrictions in…

Following an exceptional decline in 2022, which saw volume sales fall by half from 2021, cigarillos saw another significant drop in sales in 2023. Compared with 2020, which was the peak of volume sales, sales in 2023 were close to a quarter.

Retail volume sales of cigars and cigarillos rose strongly in Ecuador in 2023, Cigars and cigarillos is a very niche category in Ecuador. In general terms, the Ecuadorian population is not accustomed to consuming this type of product. For this…

The consumption of cigars and cigarillos in Bolivia remained niche in 2023, with these products having limited distribution. They are mainly available in small tobacco speciality stores, which in recent years have also started offering e-vapours, or…

The market for cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Greece saw a decline in volume sales in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous year. While the largest product area, fine cut tobacco, has proved to be more resilient than cigarettes,…

Despite the prices of cigarillos increasing these products still benefited from a more favourable taxation during 2023, and lower average prices compared to cigarettes. Due to a more significant increase in the prices of cigarettes some consumers…

Sales of fine cut tobacco declined in retail volume terms in 2023. Like cigarettes, this category received a sales boost in 2022 as large numbers of refugees entered Poland following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, in 2023 the influence of…

Cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco overall saw double-digit dips in both volume and current value sales terms in 2023. Cigars and fine cut tobacco suffered reduced consumption as a result of economic stress, which also led to low levels of…

Sales in cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Italy were supported by the positive performance of smoking tobacco in 2023. Indeed, smoking tobacco managed to achieve positive volume sales, as well as value sales, due to such products offering a…

The performance of cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Estonia in 2023 diverged according to category. Cigars and, to a much lesser extent, cigarillos saw faster retail volume growth, compared to 2022, while smoking tobacco saw a stronger…

Despite challenges in the wider tobacco category, cigars in Canada continue to attract a dedicated following among cigar aficionados and other tobacco enthusiasts. There is a growing interest in pairing cigars with craft beverages, such as whiskey…

In 2023, the consumption of cigars and cigarillos in Argentina experienced a slight decline in volume terms. This decline was primarily due to the import restrictions imposed by the former Alberto Fernandez government, which included a partial…

Cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Slovakia saw excise taxes rise sharply in 2023. This move attempted to improve the situation of the Slovak fiscal budget. However, in combination with squeezed household budgets. of Slovak households, raised…

The pandemic led to changes in lifestyle and smoking patterns with increased interest in cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobacco and fine cut tobacco. These products were seen as exotic and tapped into the increasing search for new experiences. Although the…

The market for cigars , cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Thailand experienced healthy growth in current value terms throughout 2023, with all three segments seeing a significant increase in sales. In the case of cigars and cigarillos, this was due…

Cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Hungary saw overall category volume sales fall in 2023. Volume sales of smoking tobacco continued to drop, exacerbated by a more challenging household economic situation. With lower disposable incomes and…

Compared with cigarettes, cigars is still a niche category in China, with a relatively low penetration rate. This is primarily because the compact and convenient nature of cigarettes aligns better with consumers’ busy lifestyles and work rhythms.…

Overall, cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Kazakhstan registered a stronger decline in retail volume sales in 2023, compared to 2022. However, this was due to the weak performances of cigars and cigarillos, while pipe tobacco and fine cut…

Overall, cigars remain quite a small and exclusive category in Guatemala, with few consumers opting for these products due to the relatively high unit prices, aside from enthusiasts and those with greater purchasing power. However, with the return of…

The volume sales of cigars and cigarillos continued to grow in 2023. However, the category’s performance could have been even better if the price gap with Argentina had not been as large. The latter forced people to buy these products at the other…

Smoking tobacco and cigarillos are both steadily losing popularity in Sweden, particularly among young adults who have been switching to snus and nicotine pouches. Border trade is typical in tobacco products within the Nordic region, with the return…

Sales of cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco declined in retail volume terms in 2023. The resumption of cross border trade with Sweden together with price increases in Norway were among the drivers of this decline. During the height of the…

Cigars and cigarillos saw volume sales rise in Israel in 2023, while smoking tobacco also saw volumes increase. Smoking tobacco dominates category retail volume sales in Israel, with fine cut tobacco remaining a popular, more affordable alternative…

In 2023, retail volume sales of cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Ireland continued their downward trend. While cigars and cigarillos are not subject to as many tax increases as cigarettes, in comparison to some other European countries they…

Cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco saw volumes continue to fall in France in 2023. By comparison with other categories, fine cut tobacco was spared during the COVID-19 years due to the fact that it was subject to lower taxation than cigarettes.…

The economy segment of cigars and cigarillos in Bulgaria has been most heavily impacted by the rising cost of living and high rate of inflation in 2023. The large consumer base of cigar and cigarillo smokers are switching to cheaper alternatives,…

Overall, cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco registered healthy volume growth in 2023 in Azerbaijan. That being said, in terms of cigars, value sales were still low, Cigars appeal to a niche consumer base and are considered expensive by the…

Smoking tobacco experienced a significant decline in Belgium during 2023, primarily driven by escalating prices following recent excise hikes. The skyrocketing prices have led to a sharp reduction in sales, particularly to French consumers who…

Cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco declined steadily in retail volume terms over 2023. The weak economic conditions had a considerable impact on the category’s performance. High inflation weakened consumer spending power, whilst unit prices rose…

Sales in cigars, cigarillos, and smoking tobacco in Kenya managed to achieve small positive volume sales in 2023. This is attributed to similar sales in both cigars and cigarillos, while smoking tobacco is not significant enough to be covered by…

In 2023, cigars witnessed slower growth in total volume sales in Vietnam than in the previous year. The market has become more mature, with the target consumer group of cigars being limited mostly to affluent consumers. Despite the deceleration in…

Cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Croatia continued to see retail volume growth in 2023. The growing interest in cigars among a wider range of consumers pushed up retail volume sales. Previously, cigars were predominantly smoked by…

Overall, retail volume sales of cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Denmark continued to see a double-digit decline in 2023. The demand for these types of tobacco products remained negatively affected as they tend to have an older consumer…

Cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in the Netherlands has been significantly impacted by excise tax increases, particularly for smoking tobacco, which have aligned with hikes in cigarette taxes. On 1 Apr 2023, excise increased on smoking tobacco,…

In 2023 in the Philippines, cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco was spared the hindrances that beset cigarettes, benefitting from its products’ positioning as niche and appealing to a loyal consumer audience. Cigars Local consumers who gravitate…

In Saudi Arabia in 2023, volume sales in cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco declined while current value sales saw an only marginal rise. Consumers continued to shift from cigars and cigarillos towards vapes and heated tobacco products. Such…

Cigars and cigarillos in South Korea has shown significant increases in retail volume sales for four consecutive years, with double-digit growth seen in 2023. One of the main drivers behind the growth in consumption of cigars and cigarillos is a…

Cigars and cigarillos continued to achieve moderate double-digit retail volume growth in Bosnia Herzegovina in 2023 as consumer demand among niche consumer groups and cigar aficionados remained stable. Both the cigars and cigarillos categories remain…