Illegal Tobacco

Illicit cigarette trade sees biggest rise of past five years

A new independent report has revealed that close to one-in-five cigarettes consumed in the UK in 2021 was illicit.

Contraband and counterfeit cigarette consumption increased by 4.2% year-on-year in 2021, according to a new independent report.

The report, released by KPMG and commissioned by Philip Morris International (PML), shows that close to one-in-five cigarettes consumed in the UK was illicit (18.1%) – up to almost one-in-three in some areas.

This increase was mostly fuelled by counterfeit cigarettes, now the UK’s most prevalent form of illicit tobacco. Their consumption grew 34.1% in 2021, topping three billion cigarettes for the first time in the study’s 16-year history.

PML commissions test purchase teams to help gather evidence and intelligence to support prosecutions against retailers of illicit products. The teams report that typically packets of illicit cigarettes cost between £5 and £7.50 – around half the price of legitimate products.

Cem Uzundal, Head of UK Field Force for PML, said: “The KPMG report highlights how illicit tobacco is prevalent in the UK, with counterfeit increasingly becoming an issue.

“Our undercover operatives regularly visit retail premises the length and breadth of the UK, gathering intelligence that’s shared with trading standards and law enforcement, to assist their efforts to take action.

The report also found significant regional differences in the consumption of illicit products, with Northeast England, Yorkshire and The Humber, and the Midlands all above average for counterfeit and contraband consumption, whereas London, Southeast and Southwest England, the East of England and Wales are all below average.

Uzundal warned retailers selling illicit product: “You stand a very real chance of getting caught and facing the penalties.”