Prices grew at 8.6% year-on-year, well below the 14.5% rate of inflation in 2022.

In 2021 tobacco prices went up by 17.5%, exceeding the 5.8% annualised average inflation for that year.

Sales expanded last year on the back of strong demand for alternative tobacco products, such as electronic cigarettes, while demand for conventional cigarettes stagnated, or in the case of cigars, fell.

The sale of liquid fillers for electronic cigarettes rose from 10-15 million millilitres to 25-30 million.

Rising consumption lifted state revenues from the excise tax on tobacco to Ft 476 billion in 2022, up by 15.4% from 2021.

MTI Photo