2.5 Industry sales figures as estimates for consumption

Last updated: February 2023

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; 2023. 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 International1 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 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 2021.3-7   Examination of this data alongside Australian population data suggests that the number of factory-made cigarettes sold per capita in Australia has declined by 48% between 2016 and 2022.

Table 2.5.2 Total number of cigarettes (billions of sticks) sold in Australia, 2016 to 2022

Source: Philip Morris International Inc 10K filings to US Companies and Securities Exchange, lodged Feb 2018 (p29), Feb 2019 (p27) Feb 2021 (p31) and Feb 2022 (p34) and Feb 2023 (p38)

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332918000007/pm123117form10kwrapinclfsm.htm
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332919000007/pm123118form10kwrapinclfsm.htm
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332921000007/pm-20201231.htm
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332922000011/pm-20211231.htm
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332923000025/pm-20221231.htm

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2022). Population - Australia Population at 30 June, by sex and single year of age, Aust., from 1971 onwards Canberra, ABS. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/latest-release.

 

Relevant news and research

For recent news items and research on this topic, click  here. ( Last updated June 2023)
 

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 Available from: http://www.erc-world.com/tob.html.

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, 2022. Available from: https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332923000025/pm-20221231.htm.