Until recently, no one thought cigarette smuggling was too serious, so law enforcement has not spent resources to go after it (see page 230).

However, huge tobacco black markets have arisen from several countries of Africa as smugglers move cheap and counterfeit cigarettes to sell in lucrative regions of the world where regulations are inadequate and enforcement lax. The illicit trade is fuelling addiction by making inexpensive cigarettes widely available, while robbing governments …