Eastern Europe

Smoking prevalence in Bosnia and Herzegovina has continued to decline throughout the review period, a trend that persisted into 2023, exerting a downward pressure on cigarette consumption. This decline is attributed to a growing number of…

Cigarette consumption in Bulgaria recorded a marginal decline in 2023. The switch to alternative products among younger adults, such as heated tobacco products and single use cigarettes, has become very popular over the last year. Millennials and Gen…

Despite continuously rising prices, cigarettes in Croatia saw a further increase in retail volume sales in 2023, albeit a moderate upturn and significantly slower than in 2021 and 2022. Croatia is one of the rare EU markets that is seemingly showing…

Smoking prevalence continues to decline in Eastern Europe, with retail volume sales of cigarettes also falling. Some consumers continue to try and cut down on their smoking or quit altogether for health reasons, brought into even greater focus by…

In 2023, cigarettes in Estonia witnessed another year of retail volume sales decline. The downward trajectory is partly due to consumers becoming more conscious of health and therefore likely to quit the habit. However, the major reason for the fall…

There was a significant increase in volume sales of cigarettes 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 Ukraine. Also, inflation…

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…

Retail volume sales of cigarettes generated positive growth during 2022, despite the declines seen in smoking prevalence in the country over the course of the year. The main reason for this seemingly anomalous situation is the significant decline…

Retail volume sales of cigarettes continued declining in 2022 and at a faster rate than during the previous year. Consumers are already aware of the threat posed by smoking, but the pandemic created a more immediate threat which served as further…

Cigarettes continued to decline in volume terms in 2022 as a result of the trend of waning smoking prevalence. The generational shift has contributed to enhancing the influence of the increasingly prominent health and wellness trend, which is driving…

Sales of cigarettes experienced a slight decline in volume terms in 2023. Sales saw strong growth in 2022 as large numbers of refuges entered Poland following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, many of these refugees from Ukraine returned to…

Cigarettes saw strong growth in retail volume terms in 2023. Sales were boosted by the end of the pandemic and the return to more normalised behaviour in terms of work and socialising. The end of the pandemic lowered concerns about the complications…

In 2022, there was a further fall in volume sales. Twice yearly tax hikes on cigarettes, which are scheduled to continue until 2025, are making cigarettes very expensive. This was on top of high inflation in 2022, which was caused by an energy…

Slovakia’s cigarettes market continued to decline in 2023 after new excise taxes were introduced, leaving smokers under growing economic pressure to downgrade to more affordable cigarettes or seek out alternatives. Rising demand for soft cigarette…

Volume sales increased significantly in 2022, in spite of high inflation stemming from the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. Part of the reason for the increased consumption of cigarettes was high stress levels, due to the uncertain…

A worsening economic situation in 2023 had a significant effect on cigarettes in the Czech Republic. While lower than in 2022, the rate of inflation in the Czech Republic remained high, exerting upward pressure on production and transportation costs…

Cigarettes recorded a strong unit volume decline in 2022, losing around a fifth of their sales in this year. However, given the backdrop in the country during 2022, cigarettes could actually be said to have showed a slightly better performance than…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

2022 saw significant declines in demand for cigars and cigarillos. In cigars, the sales declines registered in 2022 form part of long-term negative sales trends that have been evident in the category for many years. In cigarillos meanwhile, declining…

Sales of cigarillos boomed in 2020 and 2021. Part of this growth stemmed from the excise tax tariff on these products, which allowed players to be more flexible with their pricing. Price fighter cigarillos in particular saw exceptional growth in…

Cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco continued to achieve very strong volume growth rates in 2022. Cigars achieved the fastest growth, driven by the growing demand amongst younger adult consumers who often consume these products to showcase…

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…

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…

While volume sales fell for cigarettes in 2022, it was a different story for cigars and cigarillos. Several factors led to a healthy volume increase. Firstly, with pandemic restrictions completely removed, and people socialising again, this boosted…

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…

Cigars and cigarillos registered significant volume decline in 2022. With cigars and cigarillos being more expensive than cigarettes, smokers opted for cigarettes instead, due to high inflation. In addition, with pandemic restrictions being…

Overall, cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in the Czech Republic registered a moderate decrease in retail volume sales in 2023. However, this was mainly due to the decrease in retail volume sales of fine cut tobacco, which dominates in terms of…

Cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco all recorded major sales declines in unit volume terms in 2022, hit by a marked reduction in the assortment that was available as well as frequent out-of-stock situations, which were related to economic, import…

The briefing introduces the Cities Households Necessities Spending Index. The index ranks 1,075 cities by household expenditure on non-discretionary items, namely food, housing, and clothing and footwear. This analysis focuses on 160 major cities.…

Slower growth, surging inflation, rising geopolitical risks and an accelerating deglobalisation trend are factors shaping the global economic, financial and trade landscape in 2022 and beyond. Despite the challenges, there are opportunities for…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries. Global inflation is reaching a peak, although geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the energy market remain key risks. The impact varies between countries, with…

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered the most severe global recession since World War II. In Q4 2020, the end of the pandemic started as countries began administering effective vaccines among the population; however, vaccine distribution…

This report considers what socialising will look like in a post-COVID-19 era, focusing on several key questions. A return to the “Roaring Twenties” in the beverages space or a continuing decimation of the on-trade? How has socialising changed (eg…

Smokeless tobacco, heated tobacco and e-vapour products in Bulgaria posted dynamic growth despite rising unit prices across all categories. The growing popularity of such products has led to higher excise duty on e-liquids and nicotine free liquids,…

Heated tobacco was the fastest growing tobacco product in Slovenia in 2022, with volume sales increasing significantly. Consumers see it as a compromise between smoking and adapting a habit that is less harmful for their health. While promotion of…

Smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco in Croatia performed well overall in 2023, although chewing tobacco and moist snuff remained negligible. Both e-vapour products and heated tobacco are on an upward retail volume sales…

Smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco in Estonia performed well in retail volume sales terms in 2023. E-vapour products and heated tobacco are emerging as the major competitors to regular combustible cigarettes. These product types…

Sales of e-vapour products posted double-digit growth in current value terms in 2022, following a very successful couple of years in 2020 and 2021. Closed system single use products remained the most popular option in 2022 with the category remaining…

In 2023, retail value sales of e-vapour products and heated tobacco recorded double-digit growth in Bosnia Herzegovina. While the smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption, including illicit trade, continue to decline in the country, two other…

Closed system single use e-vapour products continued to register outstanding sales growth in Latvia in 2022, in the process recording the most impressive performance of any category across the country’s tobacco market during the year. These products…

Both e-vapour and heated tobacco registered healthy volume growth in 2023. That being said, sales were still low. In particular in terms of e-vapour, there is concern that vaping is as harmful as cigarette smoking. In April 2023, the government…

For e-vapour products, there was a significant increase in constant value sales. In particular, closed single-use vaping systems registered growth, though from a low base. Since the main consumers of e-vapour products are young, they have limited…

Although heated tobacco recorded declining sales in both volume and real value (at constant 2022 prices) terms, it managed to register modest growth in current value terms in 2022, which was seen as not too bad a performance given Ukraine was…

Smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco in Slovakia saw double-digit rises in volume and current value sales growth in 2023. In February 2023, tobacco products were subject excise taxes increase, though retailers of e-vapour products…

Smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco in Hungary in 2023 expanded in terms of volume and current value sales. By autumn 2023, all major international tobacco manufacturers had entered the heated tobacco market, with Japan…