Combatting Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products: Comparative. Analysis of Law and Practice

Illicit production and trade in tobacco products – be they counterfeited cigarettes of major brands, smuggled into or produced within the EU, or tobacco products produced under new labels (so-called cheap whites) illicitly introduced to the market – jeopardises the goals of tobacco policies and lowers the revenues of the EU and of the national budget. It also fuels organised crime, providing it with – as will be shown below – relatively easy opportunities for lucrative illegal business. This chapter will analyse and synthesise the outcome of the research in this book. Its aim is to show similarities and differences between national approaches and tendencies in enforcement against the illicit trade in tobacco products (ITTP). Furthermore, its objective is to identify positive aspects of the current enforcement practice as well as shortcomings hampering the fight against this phenomenon, resulting in enforcement gaps.