International Journal on Criminology
example , to the GDP of Macedonia-FYROM (±$ 11 billion ), Albania (±$ 12 billion ), and so on . 17
From 2007 to 2016 , over a decade , the illicit trade in cigarettes in Bulgaria constituted a turnover of 2.5 to 3.5 billion leva ( 1.28 billion euros , $ 1.55 billion ). 18
At the beginning of the period under consideration ( 2007 ), illicit cigarettes accounted for ± 11 percent of the country ’ s consumption and at the peak ( 2010 ), ± 31 percent of this consumption . In 2016 , one billion illicit cigarettes were consumed in Bulgaria , bringing traffickers 120 to 170 million leva .
A lot of chopped , roll-your-own tobacco is produced in Bulgaria and is mostly sold “ under the table ”: 86 percent of the tobacco consumed in the country is produced there and 75 percent passes through illicit channels . Thus , about 860 million cigarettes can be rolled .
For a small country ( 7.2 million inhabitants ) with a modest GDP ( per capita , market price 2016 , 6,600 euros ), the profits from cigarette trafficking are anything but negligible , and the capacity for corruption ( of the economy , officials , and politicians ) is significant .
Tobacco , an Ideal — and Dangerous — Illicit Commodity
• Smokers represent ± 15 percent of the world ’ s population ; in 2014 , the global legal tobacco market was ±$ 745 billion ( 90 percent for cigarettes ).
• In comparison , the users ( within the year , at least once ) were : cannabis : 3.8 percent of the world pop . amphetamines : 0.77 percent of the world pop . opioids : 0.37 percent of the world pop . cocaine : 0.35 percent of the world pop .
Tobacco and cigarettes are a light product with easy transportation , high demand , high profits ( profit rate : 20 percent minimum ), and repression hitting only the bottom rung of the criminal hierarchy . However , contraband / counterfeit tobacco is both a source of income for organized crime and a loss of taxation for states ; it leads to significant corruption and massive money laundering . Four global mega-corporations produce 65 percent of the world ’ s tobacco .
Illicit Tobacco and Cigarettes in the World
• Illicit tobacco ” is tobacco produced without tax or license and smuggled , or is produced by counterfeiting . The following are illicit :
17 Institute for Market Economics , Sofia .
18 “ For 10 Years , the Illegal Cigarette Trade has Poured ± 3 Billion Leva into the Criminal World ,” Novinite ( Bulgaria ), February 1 , 2018 .
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