10 Best Selling Cigarettes in the World in 2020

Published on February 3, 2020 at 2:06 pm by Dejan Vitomirov in Lists

Since consuming cigarettes is a worldwide trend, and smokers can be found among men and women, rich and poor, young as well as old, we present you our list of 10 best selling cigarettes in the world in 2020.

Although smoking isn’t popular like before, and many doctors and scientists are suggesting that smoking can be very harmful to health, smokers still enjoy cigarettes, especially after a long day. Some of the companies, like Philip Morris have announced that they “want to stop selling cigarettes”. Yes, it is hard to believe this, but after all, they don’t deny noxiousness of smoking. Tobacco manufactures also provide cigarettes without nicotine and tar, in order to help people who want to quit smoking, and in that way, they are still in business. To learn more about this, check our list of top 10 smokeless cigarettes brands in America.

Best Selling Cigarettes in the World in 2018

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On the other side, non-smokers can’t deny how cool can someone look while smoking a cigarette. Just remember Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca” or Clint Eastwood in “Good, Bad and Ugly” and how they made some of the most iconic movie scenes while smoking cigarettes. Many musicians like Jimmy Page, Janis Joplin, Kit Richards, etc., enjoyed smoking during their live shows, and there are definitely more examples among writers, diplomats, and even athletes.

By the way, you can watch the video below to find out 7 cigarette brands that contain the lowest tar and nicotine.

But to get back to our topic, there are various types of cigarettes. Firstly, they can be of different sizes. So, we have the so-called women’s cigarettes which are narrower and longer than regular, and those brands often have words like “slims” or “thins” in their names. Secondly, they can also be with different flavors, like best-known menthol cigarette, which is very popular among African Americans, according to CDC. Moreover, an important criterion for almost all smokers is if cigarettes are with or without a filter. In the end, all brands have their own insignia, and that’s how customers recognize their favorite cigarette packs.

There are many tobacco manufacturers around the globe, and you can find out which companies are the “big players” by reading our list of top 10 biggest tobacco companies in the world in 2017. The popularity of different cigarette brand can vary from country to country. So, the best selling cigarette brands in India don’t necessarily have to be the best selling cigarettes in the UK, for example. As for Amerca, do give a glance at the 11 Best Selling Cigarette Brands in US.

While researching about the best selling cigarette brands in 2020, we discovered where in the world cigarettes are sold the most, and we also searched for revenue in the cigarettes segment on each continent because we wanted to rank the countries accordingly. Our results showed that the tobacco companies are most profitable in Asia. China holds the first spot with $210,790 million of revenue in the cigarettes segment in 2020. On the other hand, when it comes to the consumption, take a look at our list of top 15 countries with highest cigarette consumption in the world. In order to compile our today’s list, we searched for brands that control the market in above-mentioned countries. In the end, we ranked cigarette brands using reports on world’s most valuable tobacco brands for the year 2018 and 2019, and by making a connection between sales success and brand value – we assumed that those brands with higher brand values are selling better. Also, you should note that we used the latest data we managed to find. So, with the list below we tried to predict what the best selling cigarettes in the world in 2020 will be. In case you want to learn more about top-selling cigarettes in 2015, do check out 11 Top Selling Cigarettes in the World. Keep reading and find out where is your favorite tobacco product on our list of 15 best selling cigarettes in the world in 2020.

10. Kent

American cigarette brand Kent is owned and manufactured in the USA by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. However, when it comes to the worldwide market, lead manufacturer is British American Tobacco. This cigarette brand recorded brand value change of -1% when comparing years 2016 and 2107. This suggests that this brand might switch places with previous Gudang Garam in 2020 rankings.

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9. Chesterfield

Chesterfield is a traditional U.S. cigarette brand. It was founded in the second half of 19th century (1873), and it is still one of the favorite tobacco products in the U.S. as well in other parts of the world.

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8. Newport

Owner of this brand is R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company from the US. Because of its menthol taste, Newport is preferred among young people. In 2016 brands value of Newport was $4,968 million and in 2017 it was $5,290 million. So, there’s no doubt that Newport can hold a high position in 2020 rankings.

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7. Copenhagen

Copenhagen is a type of dipping tobacco – more commonly known as dip or chew tobacco – from U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company. In 2006, the company introduced a sister brand known as “Cope”, intended to be an upscale version of the product. It was marketed as premium, and carried a higher price tag. The product line was discontinued in 2017. The current inventory has varying flavors and nicotine potency.

6. Sampoerna

PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna Tbk or just Sampoerna is one of the largest tobacco companies in Indonesia which is also a part of Philip Morris International, and they distributed some of their cigarette brands. With a brand value growth rate of 33% in just one year, we can say that this brand had a very good last year, and with this score, it deserved a place on our list of 10 best selling cigarettes in the world in 2020.

5. Winston

This cigarette brand is owned by Imperial Tobacco in the US, and by Japan Tobacco outside the US. The brand was introduced in 1954 and quickly became best selling cigarette in the US, and by 1966 in the whole world. With a value of $4,224 million in 2016 and growth rate of 4% in 2017, this brand is definitely going to be one of the best selling in 2020.

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4. Camel

This cigarette brand was introduced in 1913 by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. It is one of the best cigarettes for new smokers, at least according to some opinions on Quora. Over the years this brand became very popular, especially among young people. However, its brand value has fallen from $6,182 million in 2016 to $5,781 million in 2017.

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3. Pall Mall

Introduced in 1899, Pall Mall is apparently one of the best cigarettes in the world. It is R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company‘s highest selling brand of cigarettes, and it ranks second on our list. In 2020 it could record higher brand value because in 2017 it was $6,427 million, comparing to $6,201 million in 2016.

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2. L&M

On the 4th position on our list of 10 best selling cigarettes in the world in 2020 is one of the iconic tobacco brands that came from the United States. It’s owned by Philip Morris International, as well. In the last two years, when it comes to the brand value, this brand experienced the growth rate of 9%.

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1. Marlboro

The first place on our list of 10 best selling cigarettes in the world in 2020 goes to Marlboro, same as in years before. Number one Philip Morris product was launched in 1924, and it became a synonym for cigarettes. It’s definitely one of the best tasting cigarettes. The brand value was $29,935 million in 2016, compared to $32,471 million in 2017.