The tobacco black market
ITSA reports on how tobacco products are used for illicit means and why control measures are vital for international security
Estimates for the size of the illicit tobacco market worldwide vary but run into the billions of packs per year. As with many crimes, it’s difficult to be precise about the magnitude of this illicit market, so proxy measurement methods abound. Such methods include data from seizures, collection of empty cigarette packs, secret shopper operations and public surveys and questionnaires. What is clear, as with all criminal activity practiced on a global scale, is that the illicit . . .