The consumption of legally purchased tobacco products in Lithuania fell last year, hitting almost the lowest point in a decade, according to the State Data Agency.
“The consumption of legal tobacco in the form of cigarettes, which was growing during the Covid-19 pandemic, fell in 2024 and almost reached the lowest level of tobacco consumption [since 2015],” the agency’s deputy head, Inga Masiulaitytė-Šukevič, said at the presentation of the latest data on Thursday.
“The average Lithuanian over 15 smokes more than a standard pack of cigarettes every week. I stress that this is an average, because not everyone smokes,” she said.
On average, a person over 15 consumed 1,151 cigarettes last year, a 5.9% decrease from 2023.
Cigarette production fell by 4% over the year and exports by 16.9%, while imports increased by 26.2%.
Retail prices of tobacco products increased by 7.6%, driven by the increase in the excise duty rate from January 2024.
The purchasing power of the population increased during the year: a person could afford 242 packs of expensive cigarettes, 276 packs of average-priced ones and 308 packs of cheap cigarettes.
Last year, 1,577 people died from smoking-related malignancies, 80 more than in 2023. The majority, 77.3%, were men. There were 54.6 deaths per population of 100,000 (47.7 in urban areas and 69.5 in rural areas).
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