Asia Pacific

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…

Cigarettes continued to dominate tobacco in Uzbekistan at the end of the review period. However, in 2023, cigarettes saw a decline in legal retail volume sales, compared to the previous year. Despite the increase in smoking prevalence, which was…

Tobacco in the Philippines saw overall growth fall in both volume and current value terms in 2023, driven in large part the persistent downfall of cigarettes, which continued to decline while cigars and cigarillos enjoyed stable demand within a niche…

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…

In 2023, Sri Lanka's tobacco sector faced substantial challenges due to significant price hikes for cigarettes amid economic recession and import restrictions. These factors led to a marked decline in smoking rates, especially among lower…

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 Singapore saw a retail volume decline in 2023, although current value sales increased. Retail volume sales of cigarettes continued to decrease, with mid-priced cigarettes suffering the most significant fall in sales. Meanwhile, the economy…

Overall, it was a mixed picture for tobacco in Pakistan in 2023.

Positive growth was seen in tobacco in Myanmar in 2023 as official retail volume sales of cigarettes continued to rise. However, much tobacco use stems from informal sales of betel quids and hand-rolled cheroots, as well as illicit sales of smuggled…

In 2023, cigarettes faced intense competition from e-vapour products as younger adults of legal smoking age switched to the latter, which they perceived as more affordable, with lower nicotine levels and a variety of flavour options available across…

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…

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…

In 2023, legal cigarettes saw a significant decline in volume sales in Indonesia. The Indonesian Government increased the tobacco excise tax (CHT) rate by an average of 10% for cigarettes, 15% for electronic cigarettes and 6% for any other processed…

With social mobility returning to pre-COVID-19 levels post-pandemic, cigarettes have experienced the fastest volume growth in a decade, mainly fuelled by increased consumption occasions. The working population, including 316 million Millennials and a…

Retail volume sales of tobacco in Hong Kong continued to strongly decline in 2023. Strong tobacco control measures and legislation introduced by the local government have resulted in a highly saturated and mature market. The government introduced yet…

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…

In 2023, cigarette consumption in Cambodia has seen a gradual decline. This trend is driven by several factors such as a notable increase in e-cigarette use, particularly among younger consumers, the recent implementation of a VAT on cigarettes, and…

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.

In 2023, e-vapour products in China witnessed an exceptional decline in retail current value sales, marking the lowest level of sales since 2014. This was due to the enforcement of “requirements of the Measures for the Administration of E-cigarettes”…

Smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco in the Philippines benefited from regulatory efforts in 2023. Thanks to the proliferation of legislation that oversees production and sale of vapour products, e-vapour products and heated…

E-vapour products recorded another year of strong double-digit current value growth in Indonesia in 2023. The strong growth of e-vapour products in the country was supported by both established brands and new players entering the market, driving the…

Heated tobacco in Japan continued to see double-digit growth in retail volume terms in 2023. Heated tobacco is regarded by consumers as a relatively lower harm option compared with cigarettes, and the weaker smell of these products compared with…

Heated tobacco products saw solid current value growth and moderate retail volume growth in 2023. Compared with cigarettes, the competitive price of heated tobacco benefits the category. In addition, wider availability in convenience stores,…

There was continued double-digit constant value growth for e-vaping in Pakistan in 2023. Its consumer base was made up of people looking to quit smoking, as well as younger consumers, mainly under 20 years of age, who often have never smoked and…

The Indian government took measures to prohibit direct and indirect advertising of tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco, following its ratification of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the…

Retail volume sales of smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco plummeted in 2023, following the total ban of e-vapour products in Taiwan. However, heated tobacco products made strong progress from a low base. E-vapour products had…

In 2023, heated tobacco products in South Korea maintained double-digit retail volume and current value growth. The competition for the top spots in heated tobacco is intensifying. KT&G, Philip Morris Korea, and Rothmans Far East (BAT) are all…

Smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco in Uzbekistan continued to see development at the end of the review period. E-vapour products, a new category in Uzbekistan created in the early review period, gradually emerged and gained…

Overall, it was a positive picture for smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco in Azerbaijan in 2023. In terms of e-vaping products, closed system single use registered significant value and volume growth, with Chinese brands…

On 30 April 2022, the sale of alternative smoking products came to an end in Hong Kong. The legislation prohibited the import, promotion, manufacturing, sale, or possession of any kind of alternative smoking product, including e-vapour products and…

Smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products, and heated tobacco are banned in Singapore. Under the Control of Sale of Tobacco Products in Singapore, the sale, usage, and promotion of tobacco alternative products such as e-vapour products and heated tobacco…

E-vapour and heated tobacco products remains an underdeveloped category in Vietnam, however, this is expected to develop further over the forecast period. During 2022, the Vietnamese government and associated authorities, especially the Ministry of…

Smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco in Kazakhstan faced significant challenges at the end of the review period. Heated tobacco products, by far the biggest category in terms of retail value sales, posted declines in retail volume…

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…

Within cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Uzbekistan, pipe tobacco remained the only significant category at the end of the review period. Smoking a pipe remains a very common and traditional activity in Uzbekistan. Despite government…

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…

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…

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.…

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 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…

In Pakistan, cigars remained the most popular product within cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco, with value sales for the three latter products being negligible. That being said, volume sales are also low for cigars, though cigars registered…

The continuous pressure of inflation and a weakening of the local currency against the US dollar has increased prices across the category, slowing the post-pandemic retail volume recovery of cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco. Local consumers…

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…

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.

Cigars and cigarillos saw volume sales increase in Indonesia in 2023, while smoking tobacco witnessed a dramatic rise in volumes during the year. Cigars and cigarillos are expected to remain a niche interest, particularly as they are unappealing to…

Manufacturers express deep dissatisfaction with the current taxation of cigars and cigarillos, which equates them to cigarettes. Manufacturers argue that these products are considered luxuries and are less addictive, with most consumers not inhaling…

Demand for cigars in Hong Kong marginally improved in 2023, supporting sales through offline distribution channels in line with the waning impact of the pandemic. One notable development was the opening of cigar shops in the Tsim Sha Tsui East…