The volume of the UK duty-paid cigarette market continues to decline. In 1990, it stood at 98.3bn sticks. Ten years later, it had fallen to 56.0bn. And by 2005, stick sales had fallen to 50.5bn, down 9.7% on the previous year. While well known information on the dangers posed by smoking and increasing areas where the habit is not allowed are no doubt factors, the main driver has been duty increases. This has certainly led to a reduction in the number of duty-paid cigarettes sold through retail but it is hard to tell how hard consumption has been hit. Tax hikes encourage some smokers to give up but cause others to seek alternative sources of supply, both legal (bringing back quantities for personal use) and illegal (buying smuggled or counterfeit cigarettes).
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