Cigarette Output Up 12.6%

Ali Asghar Ramzi added that cigarette imports over the period stood at 2.02 billion, showing a 44.7% fall year-on-year, Young Journalists Club reported. The official estimated that close to 3.1 billion cigarettes were smuggled into the country during the nine months, indicating a 39% decline compared with the corresponding period of last year.  Last year, some 45 billion cigarettes were produced in Iran. Plans are to increase this figure to 50 million by the end of the current year (March 20). According to Ramzi, domestic cigarette production meets 92% of demand in Iran and Iranians annually consume close to 55 billion cigarettes, Financial Tribune reported.