China Tobacco Official Media Releases the 2024 World Tobacco Development Report (Part 1): Nicotine Pouch Sales Increase by 36.9% YoY to 21.23 Billion Pouches

Editor's Note

East Tobacco Newspaper（ETN) is the official media of China's tobacco industry and represents the voice of China's tobacco regulatory authorities. It provides information on policies, regulations, and market dynamics of the tobacco industry and is an important news source within the industry. As an authoritative platform, ETN has significant influence in China's domestic tobacco industry and serves as an important reference for understanding China's tobacco market and relevant policies.

In 2024, the global economy is showing signs of slow recovery amid multiple challenges, while the tobacco industry is developing in a complex and rapidly changing environment. Global tobacco leaf supply is experiencing shortages due to climate factors, with the world's flue-cured tobacco production reaching 37.28 million metric tons outside of China. Additionally, tobacco leaf prices are continuously rising due to fluctuations in exchange rates and inflation. Outside of the Chinese market, global sales of various tobacco products reached $663.98 billion, with combustible tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, hand-rolled cigars, and pipe tobacco accounting for 86.9% of the total. Legal cigarette sales decreased by 1.2% year-on-year to 54.026 million boxes, with an illicit cigarette penetration rate of 14.8%. Sales of cigars, hand-rolled cigars, pipe tobacco, and traditional smokeless tobacco continue to decline, while the growth rate of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products sales remains on a downward trend. Nicotine pouches are experiencing rapid expansion in the market.

Development Environment

1.The Global Economic Situation

In 2024, the world is experiencing unprecedented changes, with rapid technological innovation and slow recovery in the global economy amidst multiple challenges. World trade is gradually rebounding, international investments are showing signs of improvement, inflation rates are decreasing, and asset prices, including those in the tobacco industry, are significantly rising. However, short-term issues and long-term contradictions are intertwined in the world economy, with major economies facing imbalances in their recovery processes and structures, while unilateralism and protectionism are intensifying. The global supply chain is rapidly restructuring, affecting resource allocation optimization. Slow inflation decline and weak income growth are impacting consumer spending power. Overall, the world economy is facing a lack of momentum in growth, which is negatively affecting the sustained and stable development of industries and companies, including the tobacco industry.

2.World Health Organization to Control Smoking

The year 2024 marks the 19th year since the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention") came into effect, with a total of 183 parties now signatories to the treaty. The Tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention and the Third Conference of the Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products were held in February 2024 in Panama, with extensive negotiations and significant differences in opinions. Two expert groups were established during the meetings, one focused on advancing the implementation of "proactive tobacco control measures" under the Convention, and the other on ensuring compliance with the Convention's obligations.

3.Tobacco Regulation in the United States

The establishment of an interdepartmental task force to combat illegal e-cigarettes. According to multiple market research firms and tobacco companies, nearly 70% of e-cigarettes in the United States are unauthorized and illegal products not allowed to be sold by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In June 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FDA co-led the formation of a federal interdepartmental task force, in collaboration with multiple federal agencies such as the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau (ATF), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), etc. The task force holds regular meetings to coordinate and integrate federal government resources, and through lawful criminal prosecutions, civil penalties, product seizures, and confiscations, aims to comprehensively curb the circulation and sales of illegal e-cigarettes.

Accelerate the approval process for product listings. In 2024, the FDA issued several listing approval orders, including the first approval for the listing and sale of non-tobacco flavored e-cigarette products (Altria Group's products), and authorization of 8 oral tobacco products (products from Philip Morris International (PMI)) as risk-reduced products. More than 65,000 applications for listing of non-tobacco flavored e-cigarette products were rejected, with a total of 26 million listing applications reviewed, but still 6.5 million applications pending. In addition, in order to improve transparency in reviews, the FDA issued 26 scientific review policy memoranda clarifying review standards and processes; launched a "searchable tobacco product database" to facilitate users in querying the list of legally sold products in the US.

4.EU Tobacco Regulation

The European Union is currently pushing forward two important tobacco legislative amendments. The first is the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). Due to constant innovation in the nicotine industry and the emergence of new nicotine products, the EU is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the revision content and scope of the TPD. The evaluation is facing fierce bargaining from various stakeholders, and the evaluation that was supposed to be completed by the end of 2024 is still ongoing. The second is the Tobacco Excise Duty Directive (TED). The current TED came into effect in 2011 and has not changed for over a decade. TED sets the minimum tobacco excise duty for EU member states, with member states autonomously determining the actual tax rates based on this. However, due to the lack of coordinated measures on the maximum tax rate limit, member states have significant differences in tax rates even though they are all above the prescribed minimum tax rate. The revision of TED aims to address the imbalance issue, improve public health, and adapt to rapidly changing markets.

Tobacco leaves

Unusual weather patterns have led to a decrease in tobacco production in major growing regions worldwide. At the same time, factors such as currency fluctuations and inflation have caused tobacco prices to continue to rise.

1.Brazil 

According to the Brazilian Tobacco Farmers Association (Afubra), during the 2023-2024 planting season, the tobacco planting area in the south of Brazil was 4.263 million acres, an increase of 8.6% compared to the previous year. However, due to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon and diseases, the average yield per acre of tobacco was 119.2 kilograms, a decrease of 22.7% compared to the previous year. The total tobacco production was 508,000 tons, a decrease of 16.1%, with flue-cured tobacco production at 462,000 tons, a decrease of 16.3%, oriental tobacco at 38,000 tons, and other types of tobacco at 8,000 tons. The average price of tobacco was $3.71 per kilogram, an increase of 28% compared to the previous year, with flue-cured tobacco at $3.76 per kilogram, an increase of 29.3%, oriental tobacco at $3.27 per kilogram, and other types of tobacco at $2.81 per kilogram. The total income of tobacco farmers was $1.89 billion.

During the 2024-2025 planting season in southern Brazil, the area of tobacco cultivation reached 4.65 million acres, an increase of 9.1% compared to the previous year. The number of farming households involved in tobacco cultivation also increased by 3.6% to 138,000. If the climate and other conditions remain favorable, it is expected that the total tobacco production will rise to 696,000 tons, with flue-cured tobacco reaching 631,000 tons. The main reason for the increase in planting area and number of farmers is the higher profitability of tobacco compared to grains and other crops. Some farmers who had previously stopped cultivating tobacco have now returned to growing it. However, if production increases significantly, it could have an impact on tobacco sales and the income of tobacco farmers.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services in Brazil, in 2024, the total amount of tobacco exported from Brazil was 455,000 tons, generating revenues of $2.98 billion. The tobacco was exported to 113 countries and regions.

2.India

India is the world's second-largest tobacco-producing country and the third-largest producer of flue-cured tobacco, with flue-cured tobacco accounting for about 30% of India's total leaf production. Tobacco in India directly and indirectly supports employment for 45 million people and generates $1.4 billion in annual export earnings. The production and management of flue-cured tobacco in India is overseen by the Indian Tobacco Board, which is under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The industry follows a system of registration and licensing for activities such as cultivation, sales, processing, and import/export. The main areas for flue-cured tobacco cultivation in India are concentrated in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

During the 2023-2024 planting season, a total of 82,000 registered tobacco growers in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states, with 90,000 curing barns, were authorized to plant on 2.295 million acres with a planned purchase quantity of 242,000 tons. The actual planted area was 2.445 million acres, with an actual purchase quantity of 304,000 tons at an average price of $3.26 per kilogram.

3.Zimbabwe

According to data from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) of Zimbabwe, during the 2023-2024 planting season, the country experienced a significant reduction in tobacco production due to drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon. Tobacco production in Zimbabwe was 231,000 tons, a decrease of 22% compared to the previous year, with an average price of $3.43 per kilogram, an increase of 13% compared to the previous year. In 2024, Zimbabwe exported 234,000 tons of tobacco, generating export revenues of $1.33 billion.

The continued rise in tobacco prices has encouraged more farmers to invest in tobacco cultivation, with the number of registered farmers for the 2024-2025 planting season reaching 125,000, an 11% increase compared to the previous year. If no destructive weather disasters occur, it is expected that tobacco production may surpass the record set in 2023 of 296,000 tons. There is a possibility of reaching the government's set target for tobacco production as outlined in the "Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan" - achieving a production of 300,000 tons by 2025.

4. United States

In 2024, the number of states in the United States that reported growing tobacco decreased from seven to four compared to the previous year: North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The total tobacco planting area was 1.016 million acres, a 10.2% decrease compared to the previous year, with 767,000 acres of flue-cured tobacco and 174,000 acres of burley tobacco. The total tobacco production was 147,500 tons, a 24.1% decrease compared to the previous year, with 104,600 tons of flue-cured tobacco and 25,900 tons of burley tobacco. Due to climatic reasons, the average yield of flue-cured tobacco in the United States in 2024 decreased by 19.8% to 136.5 kilograms per acre. The average price of tobacco was $5.29 per kilogram, a 4.2% increase compared to the previous year, with flue-cured tobacco priced at $5.05 per kilogram and burley tobacco at $5.45 per kilogram.

5.The Global Company

In the 2024 fiscal year (ending March 31, 2024), Global Company achieved a strong performance with operating revenue of $2.75 billion, profit of $220 million, and net profit of $130 million, representing increases of 7.0%, 22.6%, and 2.1% respectively compared to the previous year.

Tobacco business. The company collects and manages data resources of over 500,000 partner tobacco farmers through the MobiLeaf tool. Despite the decline in demand for tobacco leaves from tobacco product manufacturers in recent years, the company believes that traditional tobacco products are still driving the development of the tobacco industry. Therefore, it continues to make strategic investments, constantly increasing value-added services for tobacco leaves, improving supply chain efficiency, expanding global market share, and ensuring continuous growth in performance. To meet the growing demand for hookah in the Middle East and Africa, the supply of hookah products has been increased. Processing services for cigar wrappers and cigar fillers are provided to cigar manufacturers in the United States and Europe. Tobacco dust and waste tobacco stems are recycled to produce high-quality potassium fertilizer. The company's agricultural research center in Brazil has cultivated over 20 tobacco varieties resistant to various diseases. Factors such as the increase in average selling price of tobacco leaves, improvement in product portfolio structure, and expansion of business in Africa have significantly driven the company's performance growth. The tobacco business accounts for 88.7% of its revenue and 98.3% of its profits. The company's top three sales customers are Philip Morris International (PMI), Imperial Brands, and Japan Tobacco.

Plant-based raw material business. The company views plant-based raw material business as a strategic new area of development that will support the company's future growth. The plant-based raw material business is operated by a subsidiary called Global Venture Capital Corporation, with a focus on serving downstream food and beverage manufacturers. They provide a variety of raw materials ranging from fruits, vegetables, spices, to other plant extracts, offering services such as raw liquid extraction, formulation blending, aseptic packaging, and storage.

6. Pikasus International

Picasso International was renamed from the original United Leaf Company. In the 2024 fiscal year (ending on March 31, 2024), the company's operating performance continued to improve significantly, with revenue reaching $2.03 billion, profit at $140 million, and net profit at $3.184 million, representing increases of 6.1%, 46.3%, and 108.3% respectively compared to the previous year. However, the company's asset-liability ratio remains high at 91.1%. In terms of revenue breakdown, tobacco sales revenue accounted for 94.1%, processing revenue for 5.8%, and e-cigarette and other agricultural product business revenue for 0.1%.

The company sold 371,000 tons of tobacco leaf, a year-on-year decrease of 4.4%; the average selling price was $5.16 per kilogram, a year-on-year increase of 10.5%; the average procurement cost was $4.38 per kilogram, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%; the average gross profit margin was $0.78 per kilogram, a year-on-year increase of 27.9%, reaching the highest level since the turn of the century.

Various Types of Tobacco Products

In 2024, global retail sales of all tobacco products reached USD 663.98 billion. Combustible tobacco products—including cigarettes, cigars, roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco, and pipe tobacco—accounted for 86.9% of the total.
(Data in this section is sourced from Euromonitor International, based on retail figures. Data was extracted on March 20, 2025. All 2024 data is estimated. China is excluded from the global totals.)

1.Cigarettes

Legal Cigarettes
In 2024, global sales of legal cigarettes reached 54.026 million cases, down 1.2% year-on-year. Fifteen countries and regions recorded over one million cases, accounting for 60.3% of the global total. The top three were Indonesia (5.849 million cases), Russia (3.530 million), and the United States (3.332 million).

Global cigarette sales reached USD 514.43 billion in 2024, up 1.5% year-on-year. Fifteen countries and regions had sales exceeding USD 10 billion, collectively making up 64.1% of the global market. The top three were the U.S. (USD 92.93 billion), Indonesia (USD 39.52 billion), and Germany (USD 25.17 billion).

The average global sales value per case was USD 9,521.90, up 2.7% from the previous year. Seventy-nine countries and regions had per-case values above the global average, led by Australia (USD 106,891.50/case), New Zealand (USD 99,697.30), and Ireland (USD 47,119.90).

Illicit Cigarettes
In 2024, illicit cigarette trade reached 9.379 million cases—over 1 million more than in 2020. The global illicit cigarette penetration rate rose to 14.8%, up 2.1 percentage points since 2020. Countries and regions with over 500,000 cases of illicit trade included Brazil (976,000), Pakistan (872,000), India (630,000), Indonesia (583,000), and Russia (522,000).The highest illicit penetration rates were observed in Panama (91.5%), Ecuador (77.4%), Peru (61.4%), Uganda (58.1%), Malaysia (55.8%), UAE (52.6%), and Pakistan (51.3%).

2. Other Combustible Tobacco Products

Cigars
Cigar sales continued to decline slightly in volume and value. In 2024, traditional cigar sales dropped 6.9% year-on-year to 6.47 billion sticks. Seven countries and regions with over 100 million sticks accounted for 92.1% of global sales, led by the U.S. (4.81 billion), Cuba (310 million), and Spain (280 million).Traditional cigar sales totaled USD 17.89 billion, down 0.2% year-on-year. Only the U.S. (USD 10.64 billion) and Cuba (USD 1.34 billion) exceeded USD 1 billion in sales, accounting for 67% of the global total. U.S. sales declined 3.4%.

Little Cigars
Little cigar sales dropped 3.9% year-on-year to 18.41 billion sticks. Four countries and regions with sales over 1 billion sticks accounted for 68.8% of global sales: the U.S. (5.75 billion), Japan (2.92 billion), and Germany (2.45 billion).

Sales revenue for little cigars was USD 7.22 billion, up 0.7% year-on-year. The U.S. was the only market exceeding USD 1 billion (USD 2.69 billion), accounting for 37.2% of global sales.

Roll-Your-Own (RYO) Tobacco
In 2024, global sales of fine-cut RYO tobacco reached 97,000 tons (equivalent to about 2.78 million cigarette cases), down 1.7% year-on-year. Germany (23,000 tons) and Turkey (10,000 tons) were the only countries above 10,000 tons, jointly accounting for 34% of global sales.

RYO tobacco sales reached USD 30.19 billion, up 1.3% year-on-year. Six countries and regions had sales over USD 1 billion, contributing 70.7% of the global total, led by the UK (USD 6.62 billion), Germany (USD 4.6 billion), and Australia (USD 3.55 billion).

Pipe Tobacco
In 2024, global pipe tobacco sales reached 128,000 tons, down 0.4% year-on-year. Sixteen countries and regions exceeded 10,000 tons, collectively making up 92.7% of the global total, with Egypt (36,000 tons), Saudi Arabia (23,000), and Iraq (18,000) leading.

Sales revenue totaled USD 7.46 billion, up 5.4%. The U.S. (USD 1.85 billion) and Saudi Arabia (USD 1.59 billion) were the only countries exceeding USD 1 billion, accounting for 46% of global sales.

3.Smoke-Free Tobacco Products

Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs)
In 2024, global HTP sales increased by 12.7% year-on-year to USD 38.85 billion. Device sales grew 11.7% to 45.265 million units, generating USD 2.44 billion in revenue (up 14.7%). Heated tobacco stick sales rose 10.8% to 3.552 million cases. Six countries and regions surpassed 100,000 cases, with Japan (1.202 million), Russia (486,000), and Italy (327,000) leading.

HTP stick sales generated USD 36.41 billion, up 12.6%. Eight countries exceeded USD 1 billion in sales, accounting for 73.4% of the global total. Japan (USD 11.59 billion), Italy (USD 4.86 billion), and Russia (USD 2.54 billion) topped the list. Growth rates in Japan slowed to single digits for both devices and sticks.

E-Cigarettes  In 2024, global e-cigarette sales rose 9.5% year-on-year to USD 23.04 billion.

Closed-System E-Cigarettes:
Sales reached 2.12 billion units, up 8.9%, generating USD 14.76 billion in revenue (up 11.7%). Markets exceeding USD 1 billion included the U.S. (USD 5.01 billion), the UK (USD 3.16 billion), and Canada (USD 1.72 billion).Among closed systems, disposable e-cigarette sales rose 18.9% to 840 million units, with revenue up 19.6% to USD 6.42 billion.

Open-System E-Cigarettes:
Sales revenue totaled USD 8.1 billion, up 5.8%. The U.S. (USD 1.02 billion) and France (USD 1.13 billion) were the only markets above USD 1 billion.Sales volumes included 85.164 million devices and 12.231 million liters of e-liquid, generating USD 2.62 billion and USD 5.49 billion in sales, respectively.

Traditional Smokeless Tobacco
Traditional products like chewing tobacco and snuff continued to decline. In 2024, global sales dropped 0.8% to 115,000 tons. Revenue declined slightly by 0.1% to USD 13.82 billion.

Nicotine Pouches
Nicotine pouches have become the fastest-growing smoke-free tobacco product. In 2024, sales surged 36.9% year-on-year to 21.23 billion pouches. Countries with over 1 billion units sold included the U.S. (13.88 billion), Sweden (2.56 billion), and Pakistan (1.13 billion).Revenue reached USD 11.25 billion, up 51.0%, with the U.S. alone accounting for USD 9.37 billion.