CigarettesSmokers trading down to value cigarettes and rolling tobacco in the UK have boosted the owner of the Gauloises, Lambert & Butler and Davidoff tobacco brands.
Imperial Tobacco said underlying volumes fell 7% in the final quarter of 2011 as sales were hit by the impact of sanctions in Syria, further declines in Spain amid the economic gloom, and destocking following a price rise in the US.

But revenues were down just 1% as it benefited from price rises and the sale of more expensive products.
And in the UK it has seen strong demand for its value brands, including JPS and Windsor Blue, and a rise in demand for fine cut tobacco as customers roll their own to save money.
Imperial also reported strong growth in emerging markets where sales of luxury Cuban cigars rose 14%, while its key strategic brands of Davidoff, Gauloises Blondes, West and JPS, have seen 10% sales growth.
Shares in the world's fourth largest tobacco group were up 2% after chief executive Alison Cooper said it remained on track to meet its targets for the year to the end of September.
The group said its strong position in the UK market was also supported by new products, such as GlideTec packs for Lambert and Butler in the UK, which can be opened with one hand using a thumb to slide open the pack.
But Martin Deboo, an analyst at Investec Securities, said the 7% worldwide sales decline was worse than City expectations.
Imperial claimed the underlying decline was 1% when events in Syria, US, Spain and the Ukraine were stripped out, but Mr Deboo said he was not convinced these were one-offs as Imperial claimed.