£4.5bn black market cigarette tax loss should be ‘a major wake-up call’ for Labour

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Black market cigarette use reaches record highs Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Imageshttps://www.cityam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GettyImages-2183977204-1.jpg?w=1107" />

Over half of cigarettes smoked in the UK are black market and are contributing £4.5bn to the country’s tax losses – a record high – according to new analysis from KPMG and tobacco giant Philip Morris.

The findings show that 1.5bn more black-market, tax-free cigarettes were consumed by UK smokers last year compared to 2024, https://www.cityam.com/4-5bn-black-market-cigarette-tax-loss-should-be-a-major-wake-up-call-for-labour/">[...]

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