Cigarette sales fell in the world’s largest tobacco market in 2015 for the first time in two decades, according to research by Euromonitor International.

The country’s cigarette market lost some 60 billion sticks last year, Shane MacGuill, head of tobacco research at Euromonitor, said. He attributed the decline to wholesale tax hikes, increased government control on production and greater health awareness in some regions.
“We do not see 2015 as a one off with the Chinese market now projected to lose about 5% of its volumes between 2015 and 2020,” MacGuill said.