The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau reported this week that cigarette shipments for the first half of 2015 have increased from the same period the previous year.
If the trend holds, it would mark the first year-to-year increase in cigarette shipments since 2006.
Vivien Azer, a consumer analyst at Cowen & Co., said the spike is due to lower gas prices. With more disposable income, consumers have shelled out more for cigarettes.
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