WHO Civil Society Working Group on NCDs Consensus Statement at the Multistakeholder Hearing for the Fourth UN High-level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, 2 May 2025
02 May 2025
Illicit tobacco trade: Facts and figures on the illicit tobacco trade
WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean
17 Oct 2018
This fact sheet shows how tobacco is an attractive product to smugglers because the tax on tobacco is a high proportion of price, thus evading tax by diverting tobacco products onto the illicit market (where sales are largely tax-free) creates a considerable profit margin for smugglers. This fact sheet shows that by eliminating or reducing this illicit trade would reduce consumption by increasing price, reducing premature deaths and increasing tax revenue for governments.
