The increase in the retail price of cigarettes has lead to a decline in cigarette consumption in B&H. In the past year a dramatic drop in consumption was recorded, as much as 20.6%.
In comparison to 2008, taxable cigarette consumption has fallen by a whopping 41%, according to an analysis conducted by the Indirect Taxation Authority of B&H.
In the first two years since the introduction of the special excise on cigarettes, cigarette consumption, measured by the number of issued excise stamps, decreased by a rate of 4.5% per year. Last year this drop culminated in a drastic decline of 20.6%.
Economists say that the increase in retail prices has not been strong enough to compensate for the decline in cigarette consumption.
