According the World Bank,1 illicit tobacco trade refers to
‘any practice related to distributing, selling, or buying tobacco products that is prohibited by law, including tax evasion (sale of tobacco products without payment of applicable taxes), counterfeiting, disguising the origin of products, and smuggling. Illicit trade can be undertaken both by illicit players who are not registered with relevant government agencies, as well as by legitimate entities whose business operations are contrary to applicable laws and regulations.’ (page XII; emphasis added)
Similarly, in Article 1 of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control2 illicit trade is defined as
‘(a) …any practice or conduct prohibited by law and which relates to production, shipment, receipt, possession, distribution, sale or purchase including any practice or conduct intended to facilitate such activity.’ (page 4)
Illicit trade in tobacco contributes to numerous health, economic, and governance challenges.
References
1. Dutta S. Confronting illicit tobacco trade: a global review of country experiences, in World Bank. 2019. Available from: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/677451548260528135/pdf/133959-REVISED-2-v1-WBG-Tobacco-IllicitTrade-FINAL-v3-web.pdf.
2. WHO. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. 2003. Available from: https://www.who.int/europe/teams/tobacco/who-framework-convention-on-tobacco-control-(who-fctc).