The number of smokers buying illicit tobacco in the UK has reached record levels, new research has found.
A survey of 12,000 UK smokers, commissioned by the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA) has found that more than eight out of ten (83%) have bought tobacco that was not subject to UK tax in 2024. This is compared to 71% in 2016 when the TMA first ran the survey.
The survey also found that nearly three-quarters (74%) had bought cheap untaxed tobacco from ‘under the counter’ retail sources at least once a month, and that 21% of those surveyed claimed to routinely buy cheap untaxed tobacco through the internet and social media sites such as Facebook.
One-in-five respondents (20%) said they only buy ‘branded’ cigarettes and Roll-Your-Own tobacco, even though all legal tobacco has been sold in plain packaging in the UK since 2016.
Director of the TMA, Rupert Lewis, warned that the illicit trade was “growing in size”, with excise increases and the generational ban pushing people towards it.
“The Government estimates that it has cost UK-taxpayers over £52.8 billion in lost taxes since 2000, but we fear this is an underestimate,” he says. “This is much needed money that could be spent on fixing public services is instead lining the pockets of organised criminals.
“The Government continues to turn a blind eye to the threat of illegal tobacco and the reality that it is fast becoming a major revenue stream for criminality, alongside trading illegal drugs, people trafficking and sexual exploitation.”
TMA stated that with the cost of a 20-pack of cigarettes tipped to rise to £19 in the near future, the price gap between legal and illegal products is now “eye-watering” and causing consumers to flock to the illicit trade.
Lewis warned that the proposed generational ban would only make things worse. An opinion backed up by TMA research which found that 62% of respondents did not think a ‘generational ban’ on buying tobacco (i.e. no one born after 31 December 2008 would ever legally be able to buy tobacco) would be enforceable.
“A Home Office funded report from the National Business Crime Centre published in July, stated ‘with the increase in tax on tobacco products and the proposed generational ban, the demand for stolen and counterfeit tobacco is set to increase dramatically’,” explained Lewis.
“This assessment confirms the view of many retailers and members of law enforcement, that the only beneficiaries of the roll-out of a generational ban will be organised criminals, as in due course the whole UK tobacco market is pushed underground into their hands.”
He urged the new Government not to make the same mistakes as the previous one.
“The new Government needs to listen to retailers and not make the same mistake that Rishi Sunak made. The consequences of ever increasing the cost of legal tobacco and implementing a generational ban will result in major unintended consequences which will have a sustained impact across the UK for years to come.”
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