The number of cigarettes sold in Japan in fiscal 2011 dropped 6 percent from the previous year to 197.5 billion, dropping below 200 billion for the first time since statistics were first kept in 1990, the Tobacco Institute of Japan has announced.
By value, sales grew 13.6 percent to more than 4.1 trillion yen, topping 4 trillion yen for the first time in seven years, although the number of smokers fell after sharp price hikes following a tobacco tax increase, the institute said Friday.
(Yomiuri)
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