Tobacco

The tobacco industry is facing many headwinds. The industry is still dominated by tobacco giants such as Philip Morris International but companies are being forced to diversify their investments in order to remain relevant in the future.

Cigarette sales have been on the decline for years. Younger consumers are more aware of the dangers of cigarettes and are increasingly either switching to electronic cigarettes or not smoking at all. Coupled with the increasing number of populations with access to legal cannabis, tobacco manufacturers are focusing more on marketing their own e-cigarettes and so-called "new category products", and investing in other e-cigarette and cannabis companies in order to mitigate the loss of revenue from declining cigarette consumption.

Biggest tobacco company based on sales
British American Tobacco
Most valuable tobacco brand
Marlboro
Leading cigarette importing country
Japan

Market size

Still growing despite cigarette decline

Revenue of the tobacco products market worldwide from 2018 to 2028 (in billion U.S. dollars)

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Further details: Visit original statistic Revenue of the tobacco products market worldwide from 2018 to 2028 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Despite declining cigarette sales, the value of the global tobacco market is set to continue growing. Revenue is expected to reach over one trillion U.S. dollars by 2026, a 100 billion increase compared to 2022.

The majority of the industry's cigarette sales are derived from Asia and e-cigarettes represent a small, but growing revenue stream.

Tobacco industry
Smoking in the U.S.
Tobacco products in the U.S.

Market segments

Tobacco products in convenience stores

Tobacco product sales in U.S. convenience stores (c-stores) in 2022, by sub-category (in million U.S. dollars)

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Further details: Visit original statistic Tobacco product sales in U.S. convenience stores (c-stores) in 2022, by sub-category (in million U.S. dollars)

Cigarettes made up the vast majority of tobacco product sales in convenience stores in the United States at 54.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. The least purchased tobacco product was roll-your-own tobacco with sales of just 35.8 million dollars in that year.

While still the most common means of nicotine ingestion, cigarette use is declining year over year while non-combustible methods such as vaping are growing at a continuous rate.

Cigarettes
Electronic cigarettes in the UK
U.S. smokeless tobacco sales

Industry trends

E-cigarettes gaining steam

Revenue of the e-cigarettes industry Worldwide 2018-2028 (in billion U.S. dollars)

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Further details: Visit original statistic Revenue of the e-cigarettes industry Worldwide 2018-2028 (in billion U.S. dollars)

E-cigarettes still represent a comparatively small share of the overall tobacco industry, but the segment is growing rapidly. Sales are set to increase to 28.2 billion U.S. dollars by 2027.

While cigarette consumption has been declining for years, e-cigarette use has seen a swell of support, particularly among younger consumers.

Heated tobacco products
Teenage vaping in the U.S.
U.S. e-cigarette users by age

Industry leaders

Big Tobacco

Leading tobacco companies worldwide in 2022, based on net sales (in billion U.S. dollars)

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Further details: Visit original statistic Leading tobacco companies worldwide in 2022, based on net sales (in billion U.S. dollars)

The tobacco industry is still lead by power houses like British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International, makers of such well known cigarette brands like Camel and Marlboro.

In 2021, British American Tobacco was the largest tobacco company on earth, with net sales totaling 35.3 billion U.S. dollars. Philip Morris international was a close second and Imperial Brands trailed in third.

Philip Morris
Imperial Brands
British American Tobacco

Regional overview

Looking East

Number of tobacco smokers among those aged 15 years and older worldwide from 2000 to 2025, by region (in millions)

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Further details: Visit original statistic Number of tobacco smokers among those aged 15 years and older worldwide from 2000 to 2025, by region (in millions)

The majority of today’s tobacco consumers are in Asia. This should come as no surprise as Asia is also home to the largest share of the world’s population. China is the single biggest country consumer of cigarettes in the world, by far. After Asia, Europe is the next greatest consumer of cigarettes, much of which is concentrated in Eastern Europe. Africa currently has the lowest amount of smokers, but use is growing with increases in population and purchasing power.

Tobacco industry in China
Tobacco market in Japan
Smoking in the UK

State of the industry

  • Tobacco industry
  • Tobacco sector in the UK
  • Tobacco products in the U.S.
  • Tobacco market in the Netherlands
  • Tobacco industry in Indonesia
  • Tobacco industry in Poland
  • Tobacco industry in India
  • Tobacco industry in China

Industry definition

The tobacco industry encompasses the manufacturing and selling of all products derived from tobacco, smokable and non-smokable. The segments within these categories can be further subdivided into the smokable products of cigarettes, cigars, and loose tobacco for rolled cigarettes, pipes, and waterpipes. Smokeless products include those such as chewing tobacco, snuff and snus. The newest tobacco innovations are e-cigarettes, which turn nictonie-containing liquid into a inhalable gas, and heated tobacco products, which heat up but not burn tobacco.

The biggest players in the tobacco industry are companies such as British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International which produce many of the world's most recognized brands of cigarettes. As cigarette consumption rates continue to fall, manufacturers have begun to embrace e-cigarettes as a means to maintain revenue while touting their harm-reduction benefits when compared with traditional tobacco smoking.

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