Matthew Offord, UK Conservative MP and chairman of the Illicit Trade All-Party Parliamentary Group, mentioned cigarettes in a recent article warning about the proliferation of illicit goods at Christmas. He reminded readers that the illicit cigarette trade was linked to more serious organised crime, such as drug and human trafficking. Read More
An obvious correlation exists between the highest levels of illegal and non-domestic consumption (e.g. France, UK, Ireland, Poland and Finland) and the highest taxation rates applied to fine-cut toconsbacco, in comparison with cigarettes. The figures clearly show that any alignment of tobacco taxation, regardless of the products’ specificities, will prevent fine-cut tobacco from fulfilling its buffer function, leading to increased illegal trade of cigarettes and driving down government revenues.
Read more about the relationship between tax and illegal trade