That cheap pack costs
more than you think
Illegal tobacco isn't a bargain, it's an industry that channels millions of pounds into gangs, crime, and exploitation on the UK's streets.
Behind the discount is a supply chain built on crime. Every illegal pack sold funds some of the darkest activities on our streets, with consequences that reach far beyond a smoker who's just trying to save a few pounds.
The link between organised crime gangs and illegal tobacco:
The illegal tobacco market is dominated by organised crime gangs that usually work across borders and are involved in lots of other serious crimes too. For example:
These gangs don't just deal in tobacco. They also smuggle and sell drugs and other illegal goods.
They can be dangerous and violent, often using weapons.
Human trafficking victims are often forced to make the illegal tobacco products, working in terrible, abusive conditions.
The money these gangs make from selling illegal tobacco is laundered and used to fund more crime.
HM Revenue & Customs & Border Force. (2024, January 29). Stubbing out the problem: A new strategy to tackle illicit tobacco. GOV.UK. Updated March 1, 2024.
Our high streets are under assault by organised crime - undercutting honest traders and draining life from local centres.
The Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP
Chair of the Business and Trade Committee
LinkedIn, November 2025. Byrne’s original post on LinkedIn.
What is illegal tobacco?
It's tobacco that's made, imported, or sold without paying UK tax. It includes fake brands and foreign packs which are smuggled into the country, including when people carry more tobacco than they're legally allowed to in their holiday luggage, and sold through backdoor channels. It's sold in car boots, market stalls, and sometimes under the counter in local shops.
Because they are distributed illegally, these products are unregulated and untaxed. That means that sellers can charge much lower prices which honest shopkeepers can't match (almost 90% of the price of cigarettes is tax)[1]. The legitimate sellers are forced to compete in a battle they can't win, and many are losing customers and livelihoods as a result.
[1] Based on recommended retail price for Mayfair Gold as at 20 January 2025.
- Jobs are being lost
- High streets are emptying out
- Local communities are suffering
We are not talking about isolated incidents or minor trading offences; we are talking about organised criminal networks using retail premises as fronts for wider illicit activity - selling illegal tobacco, counterfeit goods, untaxed alcohol and unregulated vapes, which normally end up in the hands of young people.
Paulette Hamilton MP
MP for Birmingham Erdington
House of Commons Westminster Hall debate: High Street Shops - Illicit Activity. Wednesday 17 June 2026. Full transcript available here.
There are three main types of illegal cigarettes:
Contraband cigarettes: Genuine branded cigarettes smuggled across borders to evade taxes.
Illicit whites: Cigarettes manufactured for the sole purpose of being smuggled into and sold illegally in another market. They usually do not pay tax in the country where they are made.
Counterfeit cigarettes: Fake cigarettes made to look like legitimate brands but produced illegally. Counterfeits are sold at a much lower price than the genuine products and are of a much lower quality.
What about cigarettes brought from holidays abroad?
It is legal for travellers to buy tobacco products in other countries, or in duty free shops, and bring them back with them into the UK.
However, they must be for the traveller’s own use and below the limits set out in Border Force guidance on travelling to the UK. They should not be re-sold.
How to spot illegal tobacco.
- Cigarettes and handrolling tobacco that is in branded packs (not ‘plain packs’)
- No UK health warnings or security labels
- Foreign languages on the pack
- Prices that seem too good to be true
- Sold from unusual places — like pubs, houses, market stalls, or from ‘under-the-counter’
People are turning to cheaper goods. The issue is that there is a lack of awareness of the dangers of these illicit goods and the harms that sit behind them, in terms of human trafficking, modern slavery and child sexual exploitation.
John Herriman
Chief Executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute
Q62, Home Affairs Select Committee Session 16 June 2026 – Oral evidence: The impact of serious and organised crime on local neighbourhoods, HC 36. Full transcript available here.
Not sure if it's illegal?
Watch for:
- Cigarettes and handrolling tobacco that is in branded packs (not 'plain packs')
- No UK health warnings or charity labels
- Foreign languages on the pack
- Prices that seem too good to be true
- Sold from unusual places — like pubs, houses, or market stalls
IT'S TIME TO SHUT IT DOWN.
Seen something suspicious?
You don't need to confront anyone.
You can report it anonymously, quickly and safely.
If you're aware of anybody selling illegal tobacco you should report this using the anonymous form above, or by contacting HM Revenue & Customs' Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887, Trading Standards (through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline) on 0808 223 1133 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Want to demand more action on illegal tobacco from your local MP?
Find out who to contact here.
Download our template letter to contact them and add your voice to the campaign.
£1.7bn figure based on HMRC's tax gap estimates for Excise Duty and VAT losses 2024 - 2025. Measuring_tax_gap_online_tables_2026.xlsx (select the table for 2026 and go to table 3.4 See lines 8 and 9 combined for 2024-2025). Live clock counter number based on this source.