Iranians smoke 60 billion cigarettes a year, 38 billion of which are produced domestically, 10-14 billion are legally imported and the rest are smuggled, Ali Asghar Ramzi, an official in the ministry of industry, mine and trade said in a televised program on Friday. “Tobacco is farmed in 6,000 hectares of land in Iran and annual production stands at 10,000 metric tons, while 20,000 tons are imported annually,” he added. The official also noted that the administration is planning to replace the imported cigarettes with domestic brands by increasing production to 52 billion cigarettes a year in the near future. Ramzi criticized the 83 percent tax levied on cigarette imports arguing that high taxes fuel smuggling.
