Number of people buying illegal tobacco in convenience stores on the rise

The percentage of people buying illegal tobacco from convenience stores has grown in the past three years, according to a new survey.

The Tobacco Manufacturers’ Associations (TMA) annual survey questioned over 12,000 adult smokers across the UK on their attitudes, awareness and understanding of illicit tobacco.

70% of people buy illegal cigarettes from corner shops, or newsagents, increasing from 68% in 2019, and 64% in 2018. Elsewhere, 13% are buying it from a duty free shop, with 12% purchasing it abroad in a local shop.

Other key findings from the survey included:

• Seven out of ten people still buy illicit tobacco
• 20% of smokers said they only buy ‘branded’ cigarettes or ‘branded’ Roll Your Own tobacco, despite it being banned in the UK since 2016
• More than 75% of respondents aged between 18-24 have bought non-UK duty paid tobacco in the last year
• Nearly one in five of those who were aware of the sale of illicit tobacco in their area reported it – a 4% increase on last year’s survey results
• During the first ‘lockdown’, 16% of respondents bought illicit tobacco through social media or websites advertising cheap tobacco – compared to only 4% who purchased illicit tobacco from these sources before ‘lockdown’

In addition, 4% of respondents said they routinely buy tobacco through social media or websites advertising cheap tobacco (of which 10% buy tobacco at least once a month.

The results went on to reveal London and Northern Ireland as the top two areas where people are most likely to purchase illegal tobacco.