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.
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 2024.3-9 The latest report estimates the total size of the Australian ready-made cigarette market was 5 billion sticks in 2024. 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. In addition to reductions in numbers of people smoking, Increases in the numbers of people using illicit tobacco in Australia are likely to be contributing to the additional large decline in declared sales between 2023 and 2024—see InDepth 13A for further discussion of the illicit trade in tobacco in Australia. Some component of the 32% decline would also be a result of inventory management. Wholesalers would be seeking to run down old stock in anticipation of new requirements for packaging in Australia due to commence on 1st April 2025—see Chapter 11 for further details. Note further 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.)
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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.
9. Philip Morris International Inc. Form 10-K filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for Year ending 31 December 2024. p 40 Washington: United States Securities and Exchange Commission, 2025. Available from: https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1413329/000141332925000013/pm-20241231.htm.