Retailers Against Smuggling website launch reveals unprecedented smuggling figures
In April, the Revenue Commission published a survey which revealed a staggering 37% spike in illicit market cigarettes alone
Print25 September 2025
With Budget 2026 just around the corner, Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS) hosted political officials and local retailers yesterday evening (24 September) for a pre-budget reception in Doheny & Nesbitts, Baggot Street, Dublin.
The event attended by ShelfLife shone a spotlight on how the documented surge in tobacco smuggling in recent years is undermining retailers’ revenue and costing the State hundreds of millions of euros, while also officially launching the association’s new website.
The newly launched RAS website lays bare the figures which chart the skyrocketing values of seized tobacco, which ballooned from €63 million in 2023 to €128 million in 2024, and the estimated €934 million in total lost revenue from tobacco products last year.
Commenting at the event, Benny Gilsenan, RAS spokesperson, said: “RAS acknowledges and welcomes the efforts of Revenue to tackle smuggling, but the reality is: it’s simply not enough.
“Legitimate retailers cannot compete with criminals reselling illegal products at a fraction of the price. This is destroying livelihoods, distorting the market, and undermining public finances.
“This is about fairness and protecting legitimate retailers and consumers who play by the rules.
“Tonight, as we launch our new website and share our submission, we send one message: the Government must act now to get on top of this problem before it gets any worse.”
‘Staggering spike’
In April, the Revenue Commission published a survey which revealed a staggering 37% spike in illicit market cigarettes alone, which now account for more than one in four (26%) of all cigarettes in circulation in 2024, compared to less than one in five (19%) in 2023, and were worth over €590 million in lost taxes.
As well as a steep rise in the prevalence of illicit and non-duty paid tobacco, RAS’s own surveys conducted by Amárach this year found a startling shift in consumer behaviour.
Between May and August this year, the percentage of consumers purchasing tobacco and vape products exclusively abroad or in duty free, as opposed to in Irish retailers, has more than doubled, rising from 8% to 19%
Philip Craddock, also a RAS spokesperson, highlighted: “Consecutive annual excise increases have already allowed the tobacco black market to thrive, directly resulting in a loss of business for legitimate Irish retailers, particularly smaller local convenience stores, newsagents and forecourts, including through the knock-on effect of reducing store footfall, resulting in less sales of other goods, in turn amplifying the loss of revenue.
“This trend must be reversed to protect legitimate retailers and their businesses. The time for half measures is over. Budget 2026 must deliver decisive action to freeze excise, strengthen enforcement, and protect those who play by the rules.”
Ahead of next week’s Budget, the group is calling for:
- A freeze on excise on cigarettes, which is already the highest in Europe, and is clearly fuelling tobacco smuggling;
- Increased staffing and scanner resources to detect illegal tobacco being smuggled into Ireland, including through our airports through breaches of duty-free allowances;
- Increases in the fines and prison sentences for court convictions for illegal smuggling.
Read more: Retailers Against Smuggling welcome budget 2025 tax strategy paper
Related Articles
Revenue seize 7.2 million cigarettes at Dublin Port →
Followers 0
Fans 0
Followers