Retailers across Jordan were reported on Sunday to have been low on cigarettes for a few days, with manufacturers and storeowners trading accusations about who is to blame for the shortages, according to a story in The Jordan Times.
Some retailers have said that cigarette manufacturers and distributors have not delivered cigarettes since the government imposed a tax increase on Feb. 4.
But the manufacturers and distributors say their production levels and deliveries have not changed.
Whatever the reason for the shortages, smokers have been left in a position where they cannot buy their favorite domestic brands.
Unless supplies get moving again, the tobacco industry is in danger of achieving what the anti-tobacco industry has tried and failed to do—stop people smoking.