£4.5bn black market cigarette tax loss should be ‘a major wake-up call’ for Labour Tax Over half of cigarettes smoked in the UK are black market and are contributing £4.5bn to the country’s tax losses – a record high – according to new analysis from KPMG and tobacco giant Philip Morris. The findings show that 1.5bn more black-market, tax-free cigarettes were consumed by UK smokers last year compared to 2024, [...]
British American Tobacco shares slide as cigarette volumes decline Business British American Tobacco suffered a fall in share price in early morning trading, as investors opted to take profits despite updated revenue growth for the full financial year. Shares slipped 2.9 per cent to 4,447.3p, as investors ignored growth in its new category business and US momentum for declining cigarette volumes. Global cigarette industry volume [...]
Smuggling gangs likely to capitalise on tobacco bill, experts say Politics As the Lords debate Labour’s tobacco and vapes Bill, experts have warned it could hand a major victory to the same organised criminal gangs behind illegal smuggling. Labour’s proposed Bill, which started the committee stage at the House of Lords on Monday, would create a generational ban on tobacco sales and implement stricter regulations on [...]
Labour’s tobacco bill risks empowering black market, warns shadow minister October 7, 2025 The Labour government’s proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill could hand a significant boost to criminal gangs and fuel the growing black market in illicit goods across the UK, the shadow policing minister has warned. Matt Vickers MP has told CityAM that the legislation, aimed at curbing smoking and youth vaping, fails to address the [...]
Rachel Reeves to raise ‘stealth and sin’ taxes to cover black hole August 15, 2025 Rachel Reeves is set to hit British consumers with extra “sin taxes”, leading forecasters have predicted, which are widely seen as regressive taxes that could hit people on lower income. The Chancellor faces having to raise £20bn in taxes at this year’s Autumn Budget to restore her “already paltry” margin of £9.9bn in headroom, according [...]
Brexit doesn’t matter, EU sin taxes will fuel mayhem here too August 15, 2025 Even with Brexit, higher tobacco taxes across the Channel means mayhem on UK streets, writes David Campbell Bannerman.
Are nicotine pouches the future of Big Tobacco? August 14, 2025 Nicotine pouches are all the rage at the moment. Sometimes erroneously described as ‘snus’ – this only refers to tobacco-based products – the pouches are mainstay of Square Mile pubs, start-up offices and even Premier League football pitches. But are they a passing fad, or the new cornerstone of ‘Big Tobacco’? And, for an industry [...]
Brussels’ tobacco ban risks fuelling illegal immigration June 28, 2025 A proposed EU tobacco tax hike risks fuelling organised crime, illicit trade, and people smuggling across Europe and into the UK, says Tom Pursglove Recent headlines suggest that up to 50,000 illegal migrants could cross the Channel this year – a figure that provokes a palpable sense of dread amongst the British public. People have [...]
Imperial Brands CEO to leave FTSE 100 giant as successor named May 14, 2025 The boss of Imperial Brands is to retire after five years at the helm of the business at the London-listed tobacco giant. Stefan Bomhard, who joined the company in July 2020, will step down as CEO in October this year. He will remain on the company’s board until the end of 2025. The German executive, [...]
Vaping crack down will do more harm than good November 26, 2024 The government rightly U-turned on banning smoking in pub gardens, it should do the same for plans to restrict products that help smokers quit, says Richard Holden MP The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will have its second reading in the House of Commons today. It’s a bill with laudable intentions. Very few people would argue [...]