Illicit Tobacco in South-East Asia ‘Not Alarmingly High’, WHO Says

The World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Region has released a new research report ¹ on the illicit trade of tobacco in the region, with the conclusion that illicit levels are ‘generally not alarmingly high in most south-east Asian (SEA) countries’.

However, the study highlighted significant weaknesses in the nature and frequency of research conducted on the illicit tobacco market, to the extent that any estimates made on the basis of such research need to be weighed carefully.

One of the primary objectives of the WHO SEA Region study was to gather existing evidence on illicit tobacco from published scientific literature as well as (when possible) gap analyses, for the ten countries of the region – India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor- Leste. The study then synthesised this evidence to arrive at an estimated size of illicit trade.

The study concluded that the prevalence of illicit tobacco generally stayed below 10%. Furthermore, for cigarettes in particular – which are subject to stricter regulations and higher taxes in most SEA countries – the prevalence was even lower, thereby contradicting the constant claim by tobacco companies that higher taxes lead to increased illicit trade.