Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/797484
30 tobaccoasia / Issue 1, 2017 March / April Selection of Bestselling Cigarette Brands in Taiwan* *Only the three top bestselling brands of each company were included. TTL provided data for only two of their brands. Other tobacco companies currently active in Taiwan – like Imperial Tobacco and PMI - are not represented in the table, and are not covered in this article. Sources: TTL, BAT, JTI Company Brand Year Sales Volume Launched in 2016 in Taiwan (mn sticks) TTL GENTLE 2001 5,050 LongLife 1959 3,000 BAT Pall Mall 2003 1,187 Dunhill 1987 1,101 Lucky Strike 2009 230 JTI Mevius 1996 not disclosed Winston 2005 not disclosed Mi-Ne 1996 not disclosed priced cigarettes partially driven by an aging popu- lation, stagnant income levels and excessive tax increases," said Chan. Still, the Taiwan National Audit Office reported that a respectable 34.9 bil- lion sticks were sold across all tobacco companies and their brands in 2015, of which 59.67% were produced locally and 40.33% were imported. This might explain why JTI Taiwan plans to continue investing in its brands. Tough challenges for every player Yet there are further challenges to be tackled not only by JTI Taiwan but every other company rep- resented in the market. For example, illegal have recently been increasingly entering Taiwan, some- times concealed in lawful imports. This surge is probably the direct result of criminals taking ad- vantage of the already mentioned stiff tax hikes on the background of stagnant income levels. Also, different local authorities appear to interpret and enforce existing regulations inconsistently and unpredictably, a situation that suspends tobacco companies in a limbo of insecurity. More legislation on the horizon? Furthermore, Chan said, there is a threat emanat- ing from "further legislative proposals seeking to introduce extreme tax and regulatory measures that would not achieve the intended public policy objectives, but risk serious negative consequences including exacerbating the illegal trade problem." And Chan might be quite right. Further tightening the tax and regulations screw might indeed only play into the hands of an already blossoming il- licit market. Additionally, existing laws concerning tobacco advertising and promotion (see side box) Miscellaneous Taiwan Data Taiwan currently has a total population of 23.5 million people (2016 estimate), with an adult smoking preva- lence of 17.1%, or 29.9% male, and 4.2% female. The most commonly consumed format is the fil- tered king-size (KS) cigarette, with charcoal filter being a plus. Taiwanese smokers generally prefer brands with mellow tobacco blends, like JTI's Mevius and TTL's Gentle. But brands with flavored capsule filters are presently also becoming a hot trend. One pack of premium brand KS cigarettes retails at approximately NT$95 ($3.03). This includes a tax burden of currently NT$36.7 ($1.17) per pack, com- prised of excise tax (NT$11.80), VAT (NT$4.50), and health and welfare surtax (NT$20.00). Taiwan's government enacted the "Tobacco Haz- ards Prevention and Control Act" (THPCA) and "To- bacco and Alcohol Taxation Act" (TATA) on January 1, 2002, effectively ending the tobacco and liquor mo- nopoly. Subsequently, the "Tobacco and Alcohol Ad- ministration Act" (TAAA) was passed by the country's parliament, the Legislative Yuan, on April 25, 2002 and became law by presidential decree on May 15, 2002, effecting a name change of the erstwhile state monop- oly entity to "Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation" on July 1 of that same year. DH KS 6mg LS 7mg PM Magma 7mg Oner Red Courtesy of B.A.T. Services Limited, Taiwan Branch Courtesy of Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation