The counterfeit cigarettes gain ground in France. Official sales fall, in particular in tobacco offices, under the effect of successive price increases. Result: more and more smokers are turning to alternative supply circuits, often illegal – a particularly visible phenomenon in border areas, as France 3 Occitanie points out on Sunday, August 3.
According to figures from the French Drug Observatory and Addictive Trends (OFDT), tobacco sales in the tobacconists have decreased 11,5% In 2024 compared to 2023. In detail, 85% of the volumes were sold in non-border departments (or 27,932 tonnes), against 15% in border areas (4,914 tonnes). It is precisely in these territories that the parallel market explodes. “Smokers no longer feel constrained by state injunctions. They choose their consumption methods themselves, whether via the parallel market or by exploring new products such as vape ”explains to our colleagues Mélissa Chelbani, head of public affairs at Imperial Brands Seita.
Better and better organized networks
In 2024, customs seized 489 tonnes of tobaccoor around 1.6% of the volumes elapsed legally. This figure is part of the Colbert III operation, a national mobilization against illegal tobacco trade. But this quantity seized represents only a fraction of real traffic. According to estimates by INSEE, Public Health France, OFDT and the National Assembly, Between 10% and 20% Total tobacco consumption in France would escape official circuits.
The methods of traffickers are professionalizing, like those used in drug trafficking. “Large bags of tobacco are sometimes transported to the back of a man through the mountain. Smuggling networks are better and better organized and their activities are becoming more and more frequent ”indicates the Regional Directorate of Customs of Perpignan.
While the consumption of classic tobacco is retreating, vaping is progressing strongly. There are today nearly 3 million vapers in France. In 2023, less than a quarter of adults aged 18 to 75 smoked daily – the lowest rate observed since 2000.
