According to experts from Brand Monitor, an online and offline market surveillance company, the demand for counterfeits of specific brands is generated not so much by end consumers as by retailers, who tend to piggyback off the marketing campaigns and reputation of brand owners, and then attract consumers with the offer of lower prices.

Thanks to the COVID-19 tobacco sales ban in 2020, South Africa has one of the highest illicit tobacco levels in the world today, with an Ipsos study finding that almost 60% of stores across the country are selling products for less than the minimum collectable tax (MCT).

KPMG has released its latest annual study on illicit cigarettes in Europe1, commissioned by Philip Morris Products SA. The study shows that while illicit consumption in the 27 EU member states declined by 0.6 billion sticks in 2023, to reach 35.2 billion, overall illicit consumption in the 38 markets covered by the study rose by 3%, reaching 52.2 billion sticks.

The global scale of counterfeit and other illicitly traded cement is a significant issue, particularly in developing countries like Pakistan, Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria. This article looks at how these countries are tackling the problem.

During the Philippine Vape Festival, held in August, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) seized over 5,000 illicit vape products displayed and offered for sale at the event. The main way of identifying the vapes were illicit was their lack of tax stamps.

Between October-December 2023, the UK Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA) commissioned a nationwide poll of 12,000 smokers on their attitudes, awareness and understanding of illegal tobacco. This is the ninth year this survey has been carried out.

In a recent Ukrainian National News (UNN) article, Oleksandr Ruvin, Director of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, described the steps taken by the institute to identify smuggled cigarettes and counterfeits of well-known brands, with tax stamps featuring high on the list of elements to check.

Depending on who you ask, Panama – which recently played host to the COP9 meeting of parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) – is either a best-in- class example of a country using tobacco controls to excellent effect, or the world’s biggest hub for illicit cigarette trade.

Although this article concerns ongoing problems with the counterfeiting of postage stamps, some of these stamps now carry a combination of physical and digital features common to tax stamps. Our industry may therefore be interested in recent developments around the counterfeiting of these ‘new-age’ postage stamps.

During his 2024 national budget speech, in February, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the South African Revenue Service (SARS) was deploying closed-circuit television (CCTV) and related technologies on the premises of licensed tobacco manufacturers, to address the high levels of illicit tobacco.