Scandinavian Tobacco Group is a leading manufacturer of hand-made and machine-made cigars, traditional pipe tobacco and fine-cut tobacco, for which it holds significant market positions in the Nordic countries and the USA. Its 31 companies manage over 200 brands distributed in 100 markets around the world.
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