Cigars, Cigarillos and Smoking Tobacco

There was a significant increase in volume sales for cigars and cigarillos in 2022, and in particular for cigarillos. With society fully opened up, post pandemic lockdowns, this led to an increase in volume sales, as there was more socialising. The…

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…

Cigars continued to register a strong performance in 2022, with double digit volume growth. However, cigars remain relatively niche and attributed to higher-income consumers such as businessmen and executives, due to their expensive prices. Moreso,…

The growth seen in fine cut tobacco in recent years came to a halt in 2022, with the category recording a double-digit volume sales decline. As in cigarettes, this decline was being driven by UK consumers returning to travelling abroad and purchasing…

Amongst all the established traditional alternatives to cigarettes, pipe tobacco is the only one still growing as fast as cigarettes, while cigars, cigarillos, and fine cut tobacco are also seeing growth, but at a slower rate. One of the reasons is…

In 2022, cigars and cigarillos in South Korea saw significant growth. Increased consumer interest in cigars since the pandemic was the main factor supporting growth. According to local keyword search statistics from Naver, consumer searches for…

The disappearance of pandemic fears created more opportunities for social events and gatherings in 2022 giving rise to greater smoking occasions. However, mounting inflation and soaring prices hampered demand for cigars as disposable income was…

In April 2022, all nightlife-related businesses in Singapore were permitted to fully reopen, including bars, pubs, discotheques, and nightclubs. During the Circuit Breaker period in April and May 2021, all on-trade establishments were forced to close…

Having experienced a drop in retail volume and current value sales in 2020, in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, cigars and cigarillos saw a return to growth in 2021. The rebound in retail volume and current value growth continued in…

The market for cigars and cigarillos remains fairly small in Indonesia, with the potential consumer base remaining somewhat limited. This is especially true for imported cigars which are sold at high prices which are generally only affordable to…

In 2022, retail volume sales of cigars continued to fall due to supply and logistics issues, particularly for Cuban cigars. The shortages had a significant impact on the category as a whole, as the Hong Kong market heavily depends on Cuban cigars.…

Fine cut tobacco volume sales recorded positive growth in 2022 following the decline seen in 2021, with actual volume sales in 2022 remaining above their pre-pandemic level, helped by the strong growth seen in 2020. The continued prevalence of remote…

The cigars category is still at a nascent stage in China, given the relatively low penetration rate. However, in 2022 cigars witnessed robust growth in retail volume terms, in particular driven by domestically produced hand-rolled cigars, thanks to…

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…

Smoking tobacco volume sales decreased substantially in 2022. One reason this was an increase in unit prices, due to the rise in excise duties on smoking tobacco. This negatively affected both domestic sales of smoking tobacco, with many consumers…

The demand for traditional tobacco products such as cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco has experienced a significant decline in Australia, due to the implementation of stricter tobacco regulations. These regulations, including higher taxes, plain…

Almost uniquely among fmcg industries, tobacco legislation is not simply a guiding element or a means of enforcing consumer standards but a central determining factor in the performance of tobacco markets. As the cumulative de-normalising impact of…