Sales of KT&G’s Esse brand represent more than one third of the global slim-cigarette market, the Korea Herald reported.

About 220 billion sticks of Esse low-tar super slims have been sold abroad from 2001, when the cigarette was introduced in the Middle East and Russia, to this July, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed KT&G official. The cigarette is sold in about 50 countries, the Herald said.