Poles smoking fewer (legal) cigarettes

The official figures do not include the black market, however, which according to a report in the daily Gazeta Wyborcza is growing rapidly.

GUS data show that in 2014 Poles per capita smoked 1,315 cigarettes. In 2005 it was 1,974.

The drop in sales is accompanied by dynamic growth in the consumption of illegal cigarettes smuggled into Poland or manufactured here illegally.

In recent years excise duty on cigarettes has grown heavily. The tobacco industry estimates that nearly 30 percent of all tobacco products consumed in Poland are illegal: nearly 7 billion smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes and 6.5 billion cigarettes made from illegal tobacco. This year that number will increase to up to 15 billion, the report notes. (jh/rk)

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza