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Cigarette sales have declined, Federal Trade Commission report says

Cigarette sales have declined, Federal Trade Commission report says
Posted at 9:18 AM, Nov 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-16 12:20:14-05

The largest cigarette companies in the United States saw a drop in sales from 2013-2014, according to the latest figures from the Federal Trade Commission.

There were 257.7 billion cigarettes sold in 2013. There were 253.8 billion cigarettes sold in 2014.

Promotional money spent also decreased: $8.49 billion was spent in 2014, down from $8.95 billion in 2013. There was a decrease in spending on price discounts, which the FTC said are "discounts paid to cigarette retailers or wholesalers in order to reduce the price of cigarettes to consumers."

Price discounts were the largest expenditure category annually since 2002, the report says.

The latest Smokeless Tobacco Report shows that smokeless tobacco sales declined slightly: From 128 million pounds in 2013 to 127.8 million pounds in 2014. Sales revenues increased, however, from $3.26 billion to $3.42 billion.

Spending on advertising for smokeless tobacco was also up.

The FTC has issued reports on cigarettes since 1967.