2.5 Industry sales figures as estimates for consumption

Last updated: February 2024

Suggested citation: Scollo, MM, & Bayly, M. 2.5 Industry sales figures as estimates for consumption. In Greenhalgh, EM, Scollo, MM and Winstanley, MH [editors]. Tobacco in Australia: Facts and issues. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2024. Available from: http://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-2-consumption/2-5-industry-sales-figures-as-estimates-for-consum

 

Data provided by tobacco companies to various market research companies and compiled by international research agencies such as Euromonitor International 1 and specialist tobacco research group, ERC Statistics International Plc, 2 are available on subscription or for purchase and provide information relevant to estimates of consumption of tobacco products in Australia. 

Table 2.5.1 shows data from Euromonitor on the number of cigarette sticks sold over the years 2016 and 2017.

Table 2.5.1 Cigarettes (millions of sticks) sold in Australia, 2016 to 2017

Source: Provided by Euromonitor International, 2019. 1 http://www.euromonitor.com/tobacco

Note: Euromonitor International states that information is produced using ‘official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research, store checks, trade interview and Euromonitor International estimates’ 

Data on the volume of sales in Australia have also been included in Form 10-K filings (a report filed annually by public companies about their financial performance) by US-based company Philip Morris International Inc to the US Securities and Exchange Commission covering the years from 2016 to 2023. 3-8 The latest report estimates the total size of the Australian ready-made cigarette market was 7.2 billion sticks in 2023. Examination of this data alongside Australian population data suggests that the number of ready-made cigarettes sold per capita in Australia has declined by 48% between 2016 and 2022, and a further 21.3% between 2022 and 2023. Note that these figures cover sales only of ready-made cigarettes. Sales of RYO tobacco products and cigarillos are not included. Numbers of cigarettes and volume of RYO tobacco on which customs duty was paid in Australia are reported in Table 2.2.5b.*

 *Converted to cigarette equivalents, RYO cigarettes made up more than 22% of the total estimated number of cigarettes on which duty was paid in 2019 and 2020 combined, up from approximately 13% in 2013.

Table 2.5.2 Total number of cigarettes (billions of sticks, ready-made cigarettes only^) sold in Australia, billions of sticks and per capita Australians aged 15+ years, 2016 to 2023

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References

1. Euromonitor International. Tobacco in Australia—2016 and 2017. London: Euromonitor International, 2019. Available from: http://www.euromonitor.com/tobacco.

2. ERC Statistics International Plc. Tobacco market reports. London: ERC Statistics International Plc, 2011. Last update: Viewed.

3. Philip Morris International Inc, Form 10-K filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for Year ending 31 December 2017. Washington: United States Securities and Exchange Commission; 2018. Available from: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332918000007/pm123117form10kwrapinclfsm.htm.

4. Philip Morris International Inc, Form 10-K filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for Year ending 31 December 2019. Washington: United States Securities and Exchange Commission; 2020. Available from: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332919000007/pm123118form10kwrapinclfsm.htm.

5. Philip Morris International Inc, Form 10-K filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for Year ending 31 December 2020. Washington: United States Securities and Exchange Commission; 2021. Available from: https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332921000007/pm-20201231.htm.

6. Philip Morris International Inc. Form 10-K filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for Year ending 31 December 2021. Washington: United States Securities and Exchange Commission, 2022. Available from: https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332922000011/pm-20211231.htm.

7. Philip Morris International Inc. Form 10-K filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for Year ending 31 December 2022. p 38 Washington: United States Securities and Exchange Commission, 2023. Available from: https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332923000025/pm-20221231.htm.

8. Philip Morris International Inc. Form 10-K filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for Year ending 31 December 2023. p 39 Washington: United States Securities and Exchange Commission, 2024. Available from: https://www.sec.gov/ixviewer/ix.html?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0001413329/000141332924000013/pm-20231231.htm.