According to a report by Yonhap News Agency on July 27th, the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance has released a report on the tobacco market trends for the first half of 2023. The report reveals a slight decline in cigarette sales in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, while the market share of heated tobacco products (HNB) such as e-cigarettes has continued to grow, reaching over 16% of the overall tobacco market.
According to the report, tobacco sales in the first half of 2023 totaled 1.77 billion units, representing a decrease of 0.6% compared to the same period last year when sales reached 1.78 billion units.
It is worth noting that the market share of the disposable e-cigarette is gradually increasing.
In the first half of this year, the share of cigarette-style e-cigarettes in the overall tobacco sales reached 16.5%, a 1.7 percentage point increase from last year's 14.8%. Starting from 2.2% in 2017, the share has steadily climbed each year, experiencing an approximate eight-fold growth over a span of six years.
However, the tobacco export volume decreased by 0.3% compared to the same period last year, reaching a total of 175 million units.
Due to a decline in export volume, tobacco sales tax revenue has also been affected, decreasing by 0.4%, reaching 57 trillion Korean won.
References:
Cigarette sales in the first half of the year reached 1.77 billion packs, with electronic cigarettes accounting for 16.5% of the market.
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