Tobacco

Tobacco in Greece posted only modest growth in volume terms in 2023. This occurred within the context of rising levels of health awareness in the country, which had a negative impact on consumption. The cost of living crisis, spurred by a sharp rise…

In 2023, tobacco in Sweden witnessed steady growth in retail volume and current value terms, although rates have slowed down year-on-year. Retail volume sales of cigarettes and smoking tobacco continued to plummet in Sweden, while cigars and nicotine…

The challenging economic environment and relevant price increases due to persistently high inflation and tax revisions affected the market performance in 2023, mainly to the detriment of cigarettes and fine cut tobacco. Cigarettes saw a decline in…

Tobacco in the Netherlands is heavily influenced by regulatory changes, shifts in consumer behaviour, and economic pressures. In 2023, cigarette sales declined for another consecutive year as the long-term shift away from smoking tobacco continued.…

The market for tobacco in Egypt was shaped by economic uncertainty in 2023, with consumer price inflation rising to a historic high, in the context of multiple devaluations of the local currency, the Egyptian pound. With the central bank placing…

Tobacco in Cameroon stood at a crossroads in 2023, navigating a complex landscape shaped by economic, social, and regulatory factors. At its core lies the persistent challenge of cigarette smuggling, a longstanding issue exacerbated by porous borders…

In 2023, overall retail current value sales of tobacco in South Korea showed a positive growth rate compared with the previous year, yet the growth rate was minimal, resulting in no significant difference in actual sales compared with 2022.

Tobacco in Hungary saw a decline in volume terms overall in 2023, attributed to several and various factors. Despite price hikes that remained below the annual inflation rate, the market's largest segments struggled to stem the fall. Volume sales of…

During 2023 inflation led to a trading down to mid and low priced brands. The market was also hindered by economic insecurity, high levels of poverty, crime and an increase in illicit trade, while widespread anti-smoking campaigns and tough…

In 2023, there were no sharp changes in excise tax or, therefore, product prices in tobacco in Croatia. More stable prices helped to avoid declines in retail volume sales at the end of the review period. However, the growth in retail volume sales of…

Overall, tobacco in Denmark saw a further strong decline in retail volume sales in 2023. However, there were oases of retail volume growth to be found within the industry. In general, tobacco consumption continued to be adversely affected by…

Tobacco in Canada is undergoing significant structural changes with traditional cigarettes losing ground due to declining smoking rates and the switch to alternative vaping products. Cigarette production witnessed a significant decrease in 2023 with…

Tobacco products contracted slightly in Guatemala in retail volume and current value terms, as cigarette consumption continued its steady downward trend in Guatemala. The consistent fall in smoking prevalence is due primarily to health concerns and…

Cigarettes remains the basic tobacco product for the majority of smokers in Romania and thus it was also the key growth driver for tobacco as a whole in 2023. Widespread distribution across all retail channels in Romania supports the positive…

Sales of traditional tobacco products in Belgium continued to decline rapidly in 2023, primarily due to an increase in excise taxes on cigarettes and smoking tobacco. The diminishing price gap with neighbouring countries, such as France, has also…

Tobacco saw a decline in retail volume sales in Spain in 2023, though sales rose in current value terms on the back of increased prices. Cigarettes continued to see an increase in value sales, whilst volumes experienced a further decline. While…

Tobacco in Italy in 2023 continued to perform well in value terms, despite rising costs caused by inflationary pressures, reduced disposable consumer incomes, and various measures taken to curb the practice of smoking overall. In fact, was something…

Sales of tobacco in Japan remained fairy stable in retail current value terms in 2023. The Japanese government reclassified COVID-19 in May 2023, moving it from a level two to level five infectious disease. The new level is the same class as seasonal…

Tobacco in China saw a fairly stable performance in 2023, with volume sales increasing marginally across all categories except e-vapour products. Cigarettes continued to see slow increases in both retail volume and current value sales, driven by…

The tobacco market saw modest volume growth in Ecuador in 2023. Ecuador has gone through a series of problems in recent years, including the strong impact of the COVID-19 crisis, followed by an economic and social crisis that led to a national strike…

Tobacco in Colombia witnessed stagnant volume growth in 2023 amid inflationary pressures and falling demand for cigarettes. Smoking prevalence continued to decline with consumers increasing awareness about the harmful effects of combustion tobacco…

In 2023, tobacco in Bolivia recorded one of its most challenging periods in recent times, primarily due to a notable growth in the availability of illegal cigarette brands. Until a few years ago, Bolivia was primarily a transit country for the…

Tobacco in the US continued its declining trend in current value terms in 2023, as the public health fight against tobacco intensified after the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the failure from the Biden Administration to achieve a comprehensive ban on…

It was a positive picture for tobacco in Georgia in 2023, with healthy volume growth across all tobacco products. 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…

Volume sales of cigarettes grew in 2023 despite the decline in smoking prevalence. Much of this stemmed from a reduction in smuggling via gangs and wider distribution of legitimate brands. However, despite a strong reduction in contraband, illegal…

In recent years, Uruguay has benefited from a stable economy and was able to remain strong despite the economic crisis faced by its neighbour Argentina. In fact, Uruguay’s economy posted positive growth in 2023 in a context in which its neighbour and…

Sales of cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco declined in retail volume terms in 2023. Smoking prevalence also dropped in 2023 compared to 2022. More people are quitting smoking for health and financial reasons while some smokers are…

Tobacco in Nigeria registered decline in retail volume sales across all categories, while current value sales grew moderately due to strong unit price increases. High inflation limited consumer spending power, forcing consumers to reduce consumption…

The tobacco market saw growth in Israel in 2023. The Israel-Hamas War caused a lot of stress, fear and uncertainty amongst locals, with many existing smokers smoking more frequently, and some former smokers returning to the habit. The outbreak of the…

Retail sales of tobacco in Finland continued to fall in volume terms in 2023, consistent with the downward trend in smoking prevalence across the country. Finns are very aware of the harmful impact of smoking, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic,…

In Austria, retail volume sales of cigarettes experienced a notable decline in 2023, falling below pre-COVID-19 levels for the first time. This decline follows a pandemic-induced increase when travel restrictions limited access to cheaper cigarettes…

Tobacco in Laos recorded positive sales growth in 2023, despite spreading health concerns and government efforts to reduce smoking prevalence via information campaigns, taxation and regulation. The 2023 decree imposing higher taxes on cigarettes and…

Within tobacco in Kazakhstan, retail volume sales of cigarettes continued to decline in 2023. The performance of cigarettes in the market was affected by the switch to alternatives like smoking tobacco, closed system single use (closed vaping…

Paraguay’s consumption of tobacco declined once again in 2023 as smoking prevalence continued to fall. The increased awareness of the harmful effects of smoking on health, anti-tobacco policies, such as bans on advertising, the inclusion of health…

Overall, tobacco registered positive volume and current value growth in Algeria in 2023.That being said, volume growth was moderate and was mainly due to population growth.

The tobacco industry in Thailand registered a stagnant performance in 2023, in both volume and current value terms. At the same time, the number of smokers in the population fell for the second consecutive year, having risen during the pandemic. This…

Tobacco in Taiwan has been heavily impacted by the amended Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, which came into effect on 22 March 2023. Taiwan now operates a complete ban on e-vapour products and regulates heated tobacco products. There are some…

Following a double-digit contraction in 2022, tobacco in Costa Rica showed a modest return to growth in total current value sales in 2023. The overall performance of the market in volume terms continued to be undermined by falling demand for…

Government-led initiatives have been successful in driving down smoking rates in New Zealand, due to increased health awareness, consistent excise tax hikes, stricter legislation and educational campaigns aimed at discouraging smoking. In 2023, the…

In 2023, tobacco in Jordan has seen growth in current value sales, largely due to consumers shifting from cigarettes to more expensive alternatives. Although cigarette volumes experienced a slight decline as consumers moved towards reduced-risk…

Surging demand for e-vapour products was the main trend in tobacco in Iraq during 2023, as demand for cigarettes and smoking tobacco falls. Notably, new consumers, including women and young adults, tend to find vaping preferable to smoking.…

Within tobacco in Estonia, cigarettes continued to struggle to maintain demand in 2023. Smoking prevalence in terms of cigarettes saw a further small decrease at the end of the review period. This was underpinned by heightened health concerns as well…

Tobacco in Bulgaria witnessed robust growth in 2023, with retail volume growth driven largely by the growing appeal of alternative products in the form of e-vapour products and heated tobacco. Cigarette smoking remains very popular due to its low…

Sales of cigarettes in Poland declined slightly in 2023 in retail volume terms. In 2022 the influx of refugees from Ukraine strongly revived sales of cigarettes in the country, but the impact of this weakened in 2023. A similar picture was seen in…

The tobacco market in the Dominican Republic was extremely dynamic in 2023; however, there were varying performances across the different product types. Whilst cigarettes remained the largest category, it has experienced a decline in terms of volume…

In 2023, tobacco continued to record a positive performance in Vietnam despite the fact that the country experienced challenging economic conditions and considerable inflationary pressure. Many Vietnamese consumers maintained their habit of smoking…

Tobacco saw continued decline in France in 2023 in both volume and value terms. The increase in taxes on cigarettes during the year led to higher prices, with popular brands such as Marlboro Red 20 priced at EUR11.50, Camel Filters 20 at EUR11.00,…

In 2023, the inflation rate in Bangladesh is very high, causing a significant increase in essential commodity prices over the past year. Despite this, tobacco sales have improved, primarily due to the widespread availability of single-stick sales,…

Overall, it was a positive picture for tobacco in Azerbaijan in 2023, with only marginal volume decline.

The Argentine economy faced significant challenges in 2023, entering a recession with a GDP contraction and a notable decline in December compared to December 2022. Inflation surged, severely impacting the tobacco industry. Although official…