I noticed an interesting trend — if you look at the global tobacco market, there's a strong concentration happening. A few tobacco companies literally control a large part of the industry, and the numbers are truly impressive.

I read the statistics on the biggest players: Philip Morris International has a market cap of about $142 billion, British American Tobacco around $92 billion, Altria Group at $88 billion. These are serious figures. PMI, by the way, is actively shifting toward alternative products like IQOS — apparently, they see where the wind is blowing.

What surprised me is that China National Tobacco Corporation produces over 40% of all cigarettes in the world, but since it's a state-owned company, its market cap isn't publicly known. The other tobacco companies are more transparent: JTI from Japan, ITC from India, KT&G from Korea — each with its regional influence.

Interestingly, some are already diversifying. ITC, for example, not only makes tobacco but also ventures into food products and hotels. Swedish Match is focusing entirely on smokeless products. It seems the industry is changing slowly but surely. Although overall, tobacco companies still remain highly profitable businesses despite all the bans and restrictions.