An Overview of Tobacco Economy in the World and in Turkey

Tobacco as a crop discovered four cent uries ago, has first been used as a plant in rel igious celebrations. After t he d iscovery of America and after i ts arrival to Europe, tobacco has come t o the f ore worldwide. T obacco has b een of t he important ex port item s fo r m any c ountries su ch as C hina, B razil, India, U nited States o f America (USA) a nd Argentina. H owever, sin ce tobacco has b een introduced to Ottoman Empire, Turkish tob acco has gaine d a go od reputation with its high quality i n w orld markets. The aim o f this study is to gi ve information about the dimensions of cigarette c onsumption, tobacco economy in the world and in Turkey and a lso t o s how the importance of tobacco production and t rade for p roducer c ountries. T his stud y a lso proffers suggestions to policy makers a bout t obacco production in Turkey.