Abstract

Even though tobacco products are commonly legal substances, the illicit tobacco trade is one of the largest among other illegal products and services. Although high taxation is often blamed for the development of illicit tobacco trade, it is the strength and efficiency of the regulatory framework that should form the focus attention when investigating the control of illicit trade. This secondary based research aims to analyse the relationship between the estimated size of illicit tobacco trade and the strength of enforcement, together with the influence of taxation on illicit tobacco trade. The results demonstrate that the size of illicit tobacco trade tends to be smaller where countries have strong enforcement capability. Moreover, countries with strong enforcement capability can also increase taxation on tobacco products while suppressing the development of illicit tobacco trade. Finally, as illicit tobacco products are mainly traded across borders, the weak law enforcement of some governments can undermine the international effort to eradicate illicit tobacco trade.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call