Slight Increase in Cigarette Sales Worries Public Health Officials

Recent data indicate a slight increase in cigarette sales this year, according to Bloomberg Business. Public health officials are concerned about the boost in cigarette sales, along with increases in e-cigarette use and smokeless tobacco.

The rise in cigarette sales largely is a result of an improving economy and lower gas prices, the article notes. Smokers tend to have lower income than non-smokers. Some are using the money they are saving in gas purchases to buy cigarettes. “Those gas price savings are a big benefit,” said Vivien Azer, an analyst at the financial services firm Cowen & Co. She noted 60 percent of cigarette sales take place at convenience stores and gas stations.

Reductions in government anti-smoking programs are also playing a role in the increase in cigarette sales, according to analysts. If current trends continue through the end of the year, 2015 could be the first year since 2002 that cigarette sales rise.

“Anytime cigarette sales aren’t going down, that’s cause for concern,” said Vince Willmore, spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. “We’re talking about the No. 1 cause of preventable death in our country.”

Cigarette volumes rose 12 percent during the first nine months of 2015 at Reynolds American, the second-largest U.S. tobacco seller. The number-one seller, Altria Group, reported a 1.5 percent increase during the same period.

Many tobacco executives predict cigarette sales will fall over time. That is one reason why large tobacco companies have expanded into e-cigarettes.

“E-cigarettes and hookah are now the most common tobacco products used among kids,” said Brian King, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. E-cigarette use among teens tripled from 2013 to 2014, according to a government report released in April. An estimated 13 percent of high school students used e-cigarettes last year—compared with 9 percent who smoked traditional cigarettes.