Smokers might have a hard time finding anywhere to light up these days in the United States, but across the world smoking doesn’t always come with a stigma. As big tobacco companies find new frontiers, Asia is the hottest market. This is especially true in Indonesia, where awareness on health hazards is low and advertisement push to make young people brand loyal (see the documentary above for more on that).
In New York City, a pack of cigarettes will set consumers back almost $15. In other places in the world, however, cigarettes come at a fraction of the price-at least at first look. The cost of a pack of cigarettes in Indonesia is only $0.64 — a price that also would buy about 44 servings of rice. Yikes.Some of the cheapest places in the world to find smokes include:
- Indonesia: $0.64 a pack
- Turkey: $0.77 a pack
- South Africa: $0.87 a pack
- Malaysia: $1.00 a pack
- Panama: $1.20 a pack
Of course, cost might not be much of a factor for smoking jetsetters. Instead, finding a country that is generally accepting of this “bad habit” might be a more viable option (you know, somewhere that you can smoke in a bar without getting the stink eye).
Here are the top countries by annual per capita consumption of cigarettes:
- Serbia: 2,861 cigarettes per adult per year
- Bulgaria: 2,822 cigarettes per adult per year
- Greece: 2,795 cigarettes per adult per year
- Russia: 2,786 cigarettes per adult per year
- Moldova: 2,479 cigarettes per adult per year (and lots of wine, too!)
And in case you’re curious, the United States clocks in at position 51, with an estimated 1,028 cigarettes per adult per year.
Will people start traveling to certain destinations in search of cheap cigarettes and like-minded smokers? Probably not. But it is interesting to know where big tobacco companies still have — or are forging new — strongholds across the world.