Forty per cent sales drop in Macau

Sales of licit tobacco products are reported to have slumped by as much as 40 per cent in Macau this year as a ‘hefty’ tax increase and anti-smoking campaigns have taken their toll, according to a Macau Daily Times story.

The industry, which is expecting a further decline of 10 per cent during 2013, is preparing to cut its operational costs if necessary.

But the industry has stressed that it is too early to say if the government’s aggressive anti-smoking measures will result in any significant drop in the number of smokers, despite the dramatic fall in sales.

The government increased taxes by two-and-half times at the end of last year and many smokers simply switched to buying cigarettes on the mainland of China.