Claims made by TTCs on illicit trade (the rhetoric vs the reality)
| TTC claims | The reality |
| Counterfeits and cheap/illicit whites make up much of the illicit cigarette market.166 167 | Approximately two thirds of the global illicit tobacco market between 2007–2016 consisted of product smuggled from the supply chains of tobacco companies, while only 2%–7% were counterfeits.15 |
| Tax and other tobacco control policies are key drivers of illicit trade.168 | Taxes only play a minor role in illicit tobacco trade, with evidence indicating that illicit trade tends to be larger in countries with lower cigarette prices than those with higher prices and that strength of monitoring, enforcement and governance having greater influence.169 170 |
| Governments should form partnerships with the TTCs to stop illicit trade.171 | Partnerships between government bodies and tobacco companies most often take the form of memorandums of understanding which are neither enforceable nor legally binding. Nor have they been shown to reduce illicit trade.164 |
TTC, transnational tobacco companies.