At the International Tax Stamp Association (ITSA) webinar held on 24 September – with 24 revenue/customs authorities in attendance – guest speaker Dr Hana Ross from the University of Cape Town and Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies examined the prerequisites for achieving track and trace success on excisable products, referring to real-world cases of successful and failed systems.

Illicit trade in tobacco and vapor products has become a critical challenge facing policymakers, regulators, revenue authorities, and law enforcement. Once seen as a secondary issue compared to narcotics or counterfeit pharmaceuticals, illicit tobacco is now a clear and present threat for many countries across the globe.

A Lithuanian man has been arrested for trying to smuggle more than one million cigarettes into Poland after a road accident exposed the contraband concealed in his van.

In the June 2025 issue of Tax Stamp & Traceability News™, we reported that KPMG had released its ‘Illicit Cigarette Consumption in Europe’ report for 2024, commissioned by Philip Morris. Prompted by a later in-depth report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on the illicit cigarette trade in Hull, a port city on England’s North Sea coast, this article examines the situation in the UK as a whole.

In the June 2025 issue of Tax Stamp & Traceability News™, we reported that KPMG had released its ‘Illicit Cigarette Consumption in Europe’ report for 2024, commissioned by Philip Morris International. Prompted by a later in-depth report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on the illicit cigarette trade in Hull, a port city on England’s North Sea coast, this article examines the situation in the UK as a whole.

In a move that is both welcome and long overdue, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced the seizure of nearly $34 million worth of unauthorized e-cigarettes during a coordinated operation at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport. The scale and scope of this joint action – nearly 1.4 million units of illegal products – signals a critical shift: enforcement against the illicit vapor market is no longer just theoretical.

‘I really need help,’ posted a brand owner who used Amazon to ship its products, referring to the serialised ‘Transparency’ QR codes that brands apply to individual product units to verify authenticity and combat counterfeiting.

Pakistan faces a significant challenge from illicit trade and counterfeiting, a reality starkly reflected in the ‘2025 Illicit Trade Index’, published by the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT), where Pakistan ranked 101 out of 158 countries.

KPMG has released its latest annual study on illicit cigarettes in Europe, commissioned by Philip Morris Products SA, and covering 38 European markets (including 27 EU member states). The study shows that while overall illicit consumption in Europe grew marginally in 2024 (by 0.2%), consumption in the EU27 soared by 10.8% to reach 9.2% of the total market – the highest level in nearly a decade.

The Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT) is a non- governmental organisation consisting of corporations and select trade associations within a range of sectors, including tobacco, alcohol, agri-foods, petroleum, and pharmaceuticals. It has released a report titled ‘South Africa’s Fight Against Illicit Trade – A Strategic Review’. The report reveals that while the country has improved its cross-border enforcement and customs capacity, as well as controls over the informal economy, it has performed significantly less well in other areas with regard to anti-illicit trade efforts.