More than 150 countries are meeting to curb the illegal trafficking of cigarettes. From Reuters: The week-long conference in Geneva is being held under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO), which estimates 5 million people die each year from diseases related to smoking. “Illicit trade in tobacco products contributes to the rise in tobacco consumption and [...]

A new report is stating that eliminating illegal tobacco smuggling in the United Kingdom would save 4,000 lives per year. From the Telegraph: Cancer Research UK says that the trade in smuggled cigarettes and tobacco kills four times as many people as all illicit drugs combined. Official figures suggest that 22 per cent of all tobacco smoked in [...]

Swiss Authorities are charging 10 people in laundering over $1 billion in a Mafia controlled cigarette smuggling ring. From the AP (via the Seattle Times): Switzerland’s top prosecutor charged 10 people with laundering more than $1 billion dollars during a decade-long mafia cigarette smuggling operation, Swiss authorities said Monday. The defendants - five Swiss, three Italians, a Spaniard [...]

The US House of Representative passed a anti-smuggling bill that aims to crack down on the black market trade in cigarettes. From the AP (via Google News): The bill, passed 379-12, would impose shipping and record-keeping requirements on those selling cigarettes and smokeless tobacco over the phone or through the mail or Internet, and make failure to [...]

Canadian tobacco companies Imperial Tobacco Canada and Rothmans were fined 1 billion Canadian dollars ($980 Million) for their role in smuggling cigarettes. From Reuters: The charges relate to the years between 1989 and 1994, when tobacco taxes, especially in Eastern Canadian provinces were so high that they prompted widespread cigarette smuggling. The taxes were intended to reduce [...]

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control estimates 600 billion cigarettes, or 11 percent of all cigarettes sold globally in 2006 were smuggled cigarettes. The loss in tax revenue worldwide was $50 billion. Source:Jennifer M. Freedman, “Governments Trying to Battle Illegal Tobacco Trade,” Bloomberg News, February 11, 2008,(accessed: February 12, 2008).

Source: Phillip Morris International Inc., “Confronting cigarette contraband,” October 2003,(last accessed: March 22, 2008).

In an article in the Washington Post, it is reported that a cigarette smuggler is able to gain a profit of $2 million for smuggling a truckload of cigarettes within the United States. Source: Sari Horwitz, “Cigarette Smuggling Linked to Terrorism,” Washington Post, June 8, 2004, pg A01, (accessed:April 20, 2006).

Source: “Weiner Says Black Market Cigarettes Tied To Terrorism,” NY1 News, November 4, 2007,(accessed: November 5, 2007).

In the United Kingdom, Custom officials estimates that £2.9 billion ($5.5 Billion) are lost in unpaid cigarette taxes due to smuggling. Source:  Michael Settle, ” Cigarette smuggling costs £3bn a year,” The Herald(UK), June 22, 2006.