The number of cigarettes sold to U.S. wholesalers and retailers by the largest cigarette companies declined almost 3 billion in 2014 compared with 2013, according to a new report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
In 2014, 253.8 billion cigarettes were sold to these retail outlets. The number sold in 2013 was 256.7 billion, according to the FTC's "Cigarette Report for 2014." The commission also reported that the amount the tobacco companies spent on advertising and promotion decreased marginally, from $8.95 billion in 2013 to $8.49 billion in 2014.
The FTC also issued its 2014 "Smokeless Tobacco Report." Sales of smokeless tobacco essentially were unchanged in 2014 from 2013, with sales of 127.8 million pounds of the tobacco product in 2014 compared with 128.0 million pounds in 2013.
