Illicit tobacco now makes up 34 per cent of all cigarettes smoked in the North East

Smokers in the North East consume the highest proportion of illicit cigarettes in the whole of the UK.

The average proportion of illicit cigarettes is now 17 per cent across the UK.

The figure for Yorkshire and The Humber is 28 per cent.

Read more: Dozens of illicit cigarettes found being sold in North East town during hour-long investigation

The figures come from a new annual KPMG report about the illicit tobacco trade in Europe and the UK.

Illicit cigarettes are more dangerous, they help fund organised crime and take money away from the government.

Philip Morris, one of the largest tobacco companies in the world is trying to combat the issue of illicit cigarettes.

A team of investigators visit shops and pubs around the country to see if they were able to easily buy illicit cigarettes.

Cem Uzundal, Head of Field Force, Philip Morris Limited: “We’re continuing to play our part in stamping-out illicit trade on-the-ground. This not only includes visits such as these, but we also work with retailers to ensure they know that illicit products are completely unnecessary in this day and age. Smoke-free alternatives are now widely available to legal-age smokers, such as heated tobacco products, which are both affordable and less harmful than continued smoking.”

The figures show counterfeit cigarette consumption rose 9 per cent in UK last year.

In total, there were 30.6 billion cigarettes consumed in 2020, down nearly 7 per cent on 2019.

The proportion of illegal counterfeit and contraband cigarettes rose to 17.1 per cent or 5.2 billion cigarettes - an increase of 230 million in 2020.

Counterfeit cigarettes are at a five-year high, up 9 per cent on 2019, £2.2 billion in tax revenue is estimated to have been lost due to illicit cigarettes - up £35.6m from 2019.

The highest levels of counterfeit and contraband cigarettes were found in the North East, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber.

The KPMG report, which analysed cigarette consumption throughout the UK, EU, Norway and Switzerland, showed the impact of lockdown on the volume of illicit cigarettes arriving into the UK from other countries in 2020.

Cigarettes brought into the country legally by consumers declined by 66 per cent, linked to border closures and travel disruption from Covid.

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