According to a report by the consulting service KPMG named ‘Illegal Consumption of Cigarettes in Europe: 2023 Results’, which was published this September, the volume of illegal cigarettes in Greece and Europe further increased in 2023.
The study which was conducted on behalf of Philip Morris International revealed that the loss of revenue for the EU public coffers in 2023 reached 11.6 billion euros while the loss for the Greek sate amounted to 624 million euros.
Furthermore, it is estimated that a total of 52.2 illegal cigarettes were consumed in European countries, 35.2 billion of which were consumed in the 27 member states of the European Union, representing 8.3% of total consumption.
More specifically, in Greece, last year alone, one in four cigarettes smoked by consumers was trafficked illegally, with the rate of illegal consumption reaching 23.7% of total cigarette consumption, a figure that corresponds to 3.5 billion cigarettes.
The Vice President of Papastratos, a leading company in Greece’s the tobacco industry, emphasizes that the report’s data confirms the need for faster and more effective action on behalf of the authorities to combat the illegal trade.
‘We must all—government, society, and businesses—join forces against this phenomenon that harms the economy, public health, and the safety of our citizens,’ he stated.
The smuggling of tobacco products remains a scourge for the tobacco industry across Europe.
According to the Senior Vice President of External Affairs at Philip Morris International a more holistic approach is needed to curb illegal trade, combining strict penalties with strong law enforcement, awareness campaigns, a tax and regulatory environment that does not drive adult smokers to the black market, and synergies between the public and private sectors.
