Cigarette Sales Decrease by 0.6%... First Decline in 4 Years

Ministry of Economy and Finance Announces Last Year's Trends

Last year, cigarette sales volume (3.61 billion packs) decreased by 0.6% compared to the previous year.

According to the '2023 Tobacco Market Trends' announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 31st, domestic cigarette sales volume last year was 3.61 billion packs, down 20 million packs (0.6%) from the previous year.

Annual cigarette sales, which had steadily increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, turned to a decline for the first time in four years. Annual cigarette sales increased every year from 3.45 billion packs in 2019 before the pandemic to 3.59 billion packs in 2020, a sharp rise of 4.1%, then 3.59 billion packs in 2021, and 3.63 billion packs in 2022.

On the 14th, a promotional model is showcasing BAT Rothmans' heated tobacco product 'glo Hyper X2' at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. The glo Hyper X2 features advanced induction heating technology to enhance user convenience, along with an easy grip, portability, and stylish design. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The return to a decline in cigarette sales volume after four years is due to the transition to an endemic phase, which restored overseas travel demand and increased the proportion of duty-free cigarette sales.

Considering duty-free cigarette sales, actual cigarette sales volume increased for the second consecutive year. Including duty-free cigarette sales, the volume rose by 29 million packs from 3.714 billion packs in 2022 to 3.743 billion packs last year.

By type of cigarette, sales of heated tobacco products continued to increase. Last year, the share of heated tobacco product sales rose to 16.9%.

While sales of combustible cigarettes (3 billion packs) decreased by 2.8%, sales of heated tobacco products (610 million packs) increased by 12.6%, making the preference for heated tobacco products more pronounced.

The total excise tax imposed on tobacco was recorded at 11.7 trillion won. This was due to the volume of tobacco shipments (3.58 billion packs) decreasing by 0.9% compared to the previous year (3.61 billion packs).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.