Cigarette sales in Spain drop by one-third

 

The sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products fell by more than 32% in January when compared to the month previously, after Spain's new anti-smoking law took effect on January 2.

Government figures released by the Treasury's Tobacco Industry Commission on Friday revealed how the number of packets sold in a one-month period dropped under the 200-million benchmark to 194,770,461 last month.

The drop was much greater than the National Smoking Prevention Committee (CNPT) had expected, with initial forecasts predicting a drop of between four to five percent since the ban on smoking in public places came into effect.

Rodrigo Córdoba, CNPT spokesman, said that among the factors for the sudden drops is that many bars and restaurants had removed their cigarette vending machines.