Lebanon Top Of Worldwide Cigar Spending

In a report generated by the data analysis site Statista, it was revealed that Lebanon ranked number one globally on per capita revenue from cigar sales in 2022. Lebanon spends $36.7 per person on cigars, compared to $35.6 in the second-placed United States of America, $27.5 in Qatar, $20.2 in Luxembourg, and $15.1 in Iceland.

Globally, cigars generated $22.43 billion in 2023, with continued growth expected to be a steady 4% for the next four years. On terms of pure revenue, the United States ranks first with $12.7 billion generated.

🇱🇧 Lebanon is the country that burns the most on cigar per capita. So many metaphors can be made.

(Via @ohimani ) pic.twitter.com/D2rbSknQBZ

— Mustapha Hamoui (@Beirutspring) June 1, 2023

Cigars were “discovered” and spread throughout the world after European colonizers arrived in North America. Tobacco and cigars were steadily adopted around the world, with over 80,000 cigar-making operations in the US alone by the start of the 20th century.

Today, top cigar exporters include the US, UK, Spain, Denmark, Egypt, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. The town of Tamboril in the Dominican Republic is considered to be the world’s cigar hub with more factories and rollers found there than anywhere else in the world

Unlike many of the other countries on the list, Lebanon ranks low in average tobacco tax levels, a major factor in other countries high spending. Lebanon’s inflation and intersecting economic crises could explain the increased prices in the country. This statistic is particularly curious considering the fact that cigars, often thought of as luxury products, have retained a strong market in the very country that continues to suffer through an economic crisis that plunged nearly 70% of the population into poverty.