The sales of cigarettes have dropped for the third consecutive month since last November.
 
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that 240 million packs of cigarettes sold in February, a 14 percent drop from a year ago. It is also down by 40 million packs from January.
 
The sales of tobacco fell from 310 million packs in November to 280 million packs in January.
 
The government attributed the drop to its various policies discouraging smoking. In particular, it said that graphic anti-smoking warnings introduced in December are effective in helping smokers kick the habit.
 
A government official predicted that the sales of cigarettes will continue to drop in March and the coming months.