Should we be proud of it? In this, we will challenge almost the entire region

We smoke almost exactly as much as the Greeks and with that we beat almost the entire region by far. A quarter of the domestic population over the age of 15 lights up a cigarette a day, just like in Athens, while one in three Indonesians, who are at the top of the OECD statistics, do the same.

In terms of our smoking habits, we closely follow the Bulgarians, Turks, Russians, French and Chinese.

We are far ahead of countries that used to be classical smokers, such as Argentina, Italy, Spain, Romania and Poland.

It is striking that, meanwhile, smoking has gone out of fashion on the American continent. Less than 10 percent of the adult population over the age of 15 lights up daily in countries such as the United States, Canada, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru.

The fact that between 2020 and 2023 the price of cigarettes in this country increased by around 50 percent did not significantly change our smoking habits. The annual average consumer price of a box of Multifilter (20 pieces/package) was HUF 1,420 in 2020, which rose to HUF 2,110 by 2023while in the same period the average annual consumer price of a pack of Sophianae (multifilter, 20/short) cigarettes changed from HUF 1,390 to HUF 2,040.

At the same time, our consumption habits have changed over the past few years. We no longer go to tobacconists for traditional cigarettes: in more than three years, the demand for heated tobacco products in this country has increased sevenfold.

In July and August of this year, customers bought nearly 300 million threads of these products, which was unprecedented.

Spectacular changes

In January 2020, when consumers in Hungary were just getting to know this product category, 38.3 million threads were sold per month. This has now increased more than sevenfold.

The increase in demand is also spectacular on an annual basis: while 802 million threads were sold in 2020, this number has already increased to 3,007 million threads in 2023. This year is expected to bring another record, sales may even reach 3300-3400 million threads.

Meanwhile, in the Data Collection System of the Tobacco Administration the consumption of traditional cigarettes continues to show a downward trendalthough a kind of seasonality can still be observed, they are more sought after in summer every year, but overall it can be said that on a monthly basis compared to the same period of the previous year there is some dip in sales, typically 10-20 million threads.

Compared to the 2020 data, consumers buy an average of 150-200 million cigarettes per month, i.e. 7.5 million packs less.

Hungarians are constantly getting used to filling and rolling cigarettes, as they buy significantly less of the comparatively cheaper, finely cut consumer tobacco.

Black trade is on the rise

Compared to 2023, approximately 20-30 tons less of these products will be sold per month this year, and compared to 2020, 80-100 tons less will be taken from tobacco shops per month. This is a significant 20-25 percent drop, considering that in recent years the monthly sales figures have typically ranged between 300-400 tons.

The reality is even more nuanced, since in 2024 the black trade in the tobacco industry will be at a level not seen for a long time, and many people will obtain their tobacco products illegally, which are of course not included in these statistics.

Next year, there may be some trend reversal in tobacco consumption, because heated tobacco products with a characteristic flavor will also be introduced.