From: BizCommunity.com
The illegal tobacco trade is a growing scourge that requires greater co-operation and collaboration by all stakeholders to stamp it out. South Africa is rated amongst the top five countries globally when it comes to the trade in illegal cigarettes. Industry research estimates that around 23% (more than 5 billion sticks) of all cigarettes consumed in South Africa in 2014 were illegal. This is almost double the global average.
According to the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (TISA), the size of the global illegal tobacco trade ranges between 330-660 billion cigarettes a year. These are cigarettes that are smuggled, counterfeited or where tax is evaded. This equates to around 6-12% of global consumption, which deprives governments of between US $20-40 billion a year in taxes.
