Money for ashes, as they say? For the last penny, Ukrainians satisfy only their basic needs: dependence and hunger. Gosstat published data according to which half of Ukrainian sales accounted for cigarettes, food and drinks in six months of 2020. It is not clear whether the quarantine or depression is to blame, however, in despair, people reassure themselves in every possible way.
The list of such points of mass consumption, to put it mildly, is not surprising, and not particularly comforting. The top sales list of food products and tobacco products was surpassed only by utilities and metallurgical products. After all, what we still need is a full stomach, heat, water, gas, and cooling of the "fragments". With the current jumps in prices, tariffs and the minimum wage, it probably won't be enough for more.
Only if everything is more or less clear with food products, how did cigarettes get to the top of the buyer's chart? There are several options. The first, the most simple and naive one is the banal satisfaction of one's addiction. Well, a person can't get rid of a bad habit, and he'd rather spend the last twenty on cigarettes.
Another position is that poor Ukrainians are nervous, angry and tired and don't know how to let off steam and relax. Work does not bring them joy, and going out to the smoking room is a great reason to escape from the work routine for at least a couple of minutes. Since alcohol with its current prices and quality is no longer an option, people switch to cheaper smoking. In addition, in some cities there is a trade ban on alcohol after 22:00. At the same time, the same price jumps for cigarettes can also serve as a reason for active tobacco stocks of the population.
Another possible reason for the tobacco boom is resale. The scenario when cigarettes are bought in blocks in stores, and then resold in stalls or individually by grandmothers on the street is not a new one. The same as the purchase of tobacco products by Ukrainian so-called "salaried workers" who take them to Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and other European countries. After all, it is a long-known fact: cigarettes in Ukraine are much cheaper than in Europe, and for the same money you can buy a pack or two of cigarettes there, you can buy a block here. Therefore, such illegal tobacco is in demand in Europe, especially in universities and their dormitories. The main thing is to know your so-called audience.
At the same time, experts argue that it is not really a matter of increasing physical sales volumes, but of the population itself and its psychology. At this rate, we will soon give up normal food.
For every demand there is an offer. If it were unprofitable, no one would buy it. And so - look: five years ago, cigarettes were 27-30 hryvnias, realities are changing, the exchange rate is rising, now the price is 40-60, times are bad - but, all the same, they won't eat, they won't drink, but they will make a couple of cherished cravings. Everything goes from the head, first of all, and this is already successfully used by marketers, says Larisa Rychanskaya, an economist.
