Spain’s cigarette sales hit all-time low

CIGARETTE sales from the first six months of 2015 are the lowest in Spain since recordkeeping began in 1989.

According to figures released by the Commission for the Tobacco Market, 1.11 billion packets of cigarettes were sold in Spain between January and June of this year, compared to 1.14 billion during the first half of 2014.

This represents a 2.4% decrease, continuing a seven-year downward trajectory dating back to 2008, when 2.19 billion packets were sold between January and June.

Sales of rolling tobacco and cigars have also fallen, while sales of pipe tobacco climbed 6.3%.

The decreases in tobacco sales match a downward trend in the overall number of smokers in Spain, which fell from 32% in 2001 to 24% in 2011, according to the Organisation for Econonomic Cooperation and Development (OECD).