Jelena Pavlovic, Philip Morris' general manager for Southeastern Europe, recently said that while the tobacco company is working on creating and selling alternative tobacco products, production business for traditional cigarettes is booming in Serbia.

“In 2015, we have increased production by 60 percent and produced a record 19 billion cigarettes, while in October of 2016 we managed to surpass last year’s record," she said. "We ended the year with a 20 percent better result than in 2015, and for the next one we are planning further growth."

Pavlovic also said that 80 percent of the cigarettes produced at the company's facility in Nis are for export, making Philip Morris one of the top five exporters in Serbia. The Nis factory is the center of operations for Southeast Europe, which includes Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo.