Annual cigarette sales in the US went up for the first time in two decades in 2020.
Cigarette sales in the US sold to wholesalers and retailers increased from 202.9 billion sticks in 2019 to 203.7 billion in 2020 says a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report. This is the first time annual cigarette sales went up in 20 years.
Smokeless tobacco sales increased from 126 million pounds in 2019 to 126.9 million pounds in 2020, representing US$4.53 billion in 2019 to US$4.82 billion in 2020. FTC also reported on sales of nicotine lozenges or nicotine pouches not containing tobacco. In 2020, companies sold 140.7 million units of such products in the US, for US$420.5 million.
For the first time, FTC’s 2020 data include information on the flavors of smokeless tobacco products. Menthol-flavored smokeless tobacco products comprised more than half of all sales revenues (54.5%); tobacco- flavored products (that is, no added flavor) comprised 43.4%; and fruit-flavored smokeless tobacco products comprised 2.5%.
The amount spent on cigarette advertising and promotion increased from US$7.62 billion in 2019 to US$7.84 billion in 2020. Price discounts paid to cigarette retailers (US$6.07 billion) and wholesalers (US$876 million) were the two largest expenditure categories in 2020. Combined spending on price discounts accounted for 88.5% of industry spending.
Spending on advertising and promotion by the major manufacturers of smokeless tobacco products in the US decreased from US$576.1 million in 2019 to US$567.3 million in 2020. As with cigarettes, price discounts made up the two largest spending categories, with US$296.6 million paid to retailers and $83.5 million paid to wholesalers. Combined spending on price discounts totaled U$380.1 million – or 67.4% of all spending in 2020, up from the US$376.0 million spent in 2019.