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Illicit trade grows as legal tobacco sales decline
Government estimates reveal that the share of the UK’s beer and tobacco market made up of illicit products increased in the past year, with total losses to the Treasury from illicit trade across key categories reaching £3.1 billion. While illegal tobacco’s market share rose slightly to 13.8%, this was not due to greater smuggling, but rather a marked decline in legitimate sales. It should be noted that the while market share for illicit cigarettes grew slightly the market share for handrolled tobacco continued to decline. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) pointed to the static level of illegal sales as further evidence undermining the tobacco industry’s claim that tax and regulation fuel black market growth. ASH chief executive Hazel Cheeseman dismissed such arguments as attempts to delay effective regulation.
Source: Better Retailing, 19 June 2025
See also: ASH - NEW official estimate of the illicit tobacco market: ASH response
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PMI push back against DHSC on heated tobacco promotion
Philip Morris has pushed back on warnings from health experts and the government claiming its advertising of heated tobacco products complies with the law. The Department of Health and Social Care recently issued warnings to major retailers including Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, stating that such promotions contravene the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act.
ASH’s John Waldron pointed out that the 2002 law intended to prohibit advertising of all tobacco products and that the tobacco industry are blatantly exploiting the framing of the law to advertise these products. The new Tobacco and Vapes Bill—now progressing through the House of Lords—seeks to address this by explicitly including heated tobacco in its scope and banning its promotion. ASH chief executive Hazel Cheeseman welcomed the clarification, stating that the updated bill removes any room for misinterpretation.
Source: The Grocer, 19th June 2025
See also: ASH - Heated tobacco ads are everywhere – how are tobacco companies getting away with it?
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Opinion: Tobacco tax crisis: a call for change in UK policy
Writing on the LBC website, UK Senior Government Affairs Manager at Imperial Brands, Stephen Rooney, pushes the tobacco industry argument that the illicit market has caused a sharp fall in tobacco tax revenue and a rise in illegal trade. Speaking on behalf of Imperial Brands, Rooney claims there could be a shortfall of revenue that exceeds £4.5 billion, and argues that this is due to illegal tobacco trade. As a result, Rooney and the industry argue tobacco tax needs to reform and concerted efforts need to be made to combat the illegal trade.
Source: LBC, 17 June 2025
Editorial note:
This article is written by a tobacco industry spokesperson and advances tobacco industry arguments against tobacco taxes not proven by the evidence. The illicit market for tobacco has remained stable between 22/23 and 23/24 according to new data published yesterday morning by HMRC. The overall size of the illicit market is estimated to be 13.8% of tobacco smoked and leads to a loss in taxes of £1.4bn annually in excise tax plus an additional £400m in VAT.
This progress contradicts tobacco industry claims that regulation of tobacco and tax increases are ‘fuelling the illicit market’, claiming that the size of the illicit market would be as high as £4.5bn [note HMRC’s estimate is £1.4bn].
These claims are not supported by the wider evidence nor the assessment published today by HMRC. Rather organisations from the World Bank to the WHO state that tobacco taxes are the single most effective measure for reducing smoking and that the size of a country’s illicit market is linked to multiple factors, such as the effectiveness of its enforcement strategy and supply chain controls. rather than simply the level of its taxation.
See ASH’s PR: NEW official estimate of the illicit tobacco market: ASH response
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Greater Manchester achieves success in reducing pregnancy smoking rates
Recent figures show that Greater Manchester has made significant progress in reducing smoking rates among pregnant women, surpassing NHS England’s national target. The proportion of women smoking at the time of delivery dropped to 5.9% in 2024-2025, a considerable decrease from 13% in 2018. This reduction is attributed to the Greater Manchester Smokefree Pregnancy programme, which has been supporting pregnant women and their partners with free stop-smoking services, including personalised support, nicotine replacement therapy, and financial incentives.
Since its launch in 2018, the programme has helped over 10,000 women quit smoking and has contributed to a decrease in hospital admissions, saving the NHS millions annually. Jane Coyne, Assistant Director of Population Health and Treating Tobacco Dependency Lead for NHS Greater Manchester, highlighted the programme’s role in addressing health inequalities and improving outcomes.
Source: Wigan Today, 19 June 2025
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Plymouth survey finds most children who try vaping don’t continue
A survey of 4,000 Plymouth pupils aged 12 to 15 found that while over a third had tried vaping, 92% did not continue. Public health officials say the figures counter assumptions about widespread youth vaping. The city is addressing the issue through education, staff training, and outreach into primary schools, while still supporting adults who use vaping to quit smoking. Concerns remain over illicit, drug-laced vapes linked to hospitalisations. Local efforts, praised as a model for other areas, are partly funded through proceeds from drug crime seizures.
Source: PlymouthLive, 19 June 2025
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NHS Providers chief urges bold cuts to ICB numbers
Daniel Elkeles, the new CEO of NHS Providers, has called on health leaders to go further than current plans and reduce the number of integrated care boards (ICBs) beyond the proposed 27. He warned that many planned mergers risk being too small — with some ICBs serving under 2 million people — to attract the talent and leadership needed.
In his first interview since taking the role, Elkeles argued for larger ICBs to improve capability and urged against compromises that could lead to future reorganisations. He also proposed a “year of care” tariff model for providers, changes to resident doctor employment to prevent strikes, and highlighted concerns over unrealistic financial plans being hampered by delayed national redundancy schemes.
Source: HSJ, 19 June 2025
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Report: Spin the bottle: How the UK alcohol industry twists the facts on harm and responsibility
This report from the Institute of Alcohol Studies examines the public messaging of six major alcohol industry and industry-funded organisations in 2024, evaluating the credibility of their claims. It reveals that the UK alcohol industry employed a range of arguments to resist evidence-based policies aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm, while portraying itself as responsible - a strategy that has ultimately delayed meaningful policy action.
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Podcast: Prevention is the new cure
This podcast is hosted by Steve Brine, former MP and Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee and Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard, one of the country's foremost medical academics and a general practitioner. In this episode, recorded live from NHS ConfedExpo, Brine and Stokes-Lampard delve into the upcoming spending review and the forthcoming Ten Year Plan.
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Press release: NEW official estimate of the illicit tobacco market: ASH response
This ASH press release highlights the progress made in keeping the illicit tobacco market stable between 22/23 and 23/24. According to figures published by HMRC, the overall size of the illicit market is estimated to be 13.8% of tobacco smoked and leads to a loss in taxes of £1.4bn annually in excise tax plus an additional £400m in VAT. While ASH would still like to see rates of illicit tobacco fall further the progress made over the last 20 years has been significant with rates at 21.7% in 2006/7.
You can find the official figures here.
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Press release: Government achieves smoking in pregnancy reduction target – but progress threatened by NHS cuts
This ASH press release welcomes new SATOD figures showing the lowest recorded rates of smoking during pregnancy in England, with just 6.1% of women identified as smokers in 2024/25 - meeting the government's national target of 6%. The statement celebrates this public health milestone while urging the government to safeguard funding for vital quit support services in maternity care and across the NHS, as called for by the Smoking in Pregnancy Challenge Group. You can find the Challenge Group’s most recent briefing here.
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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