People caught smoking in these premises risk fines. Although the exact amount has not been officially announced, French health minister Catherine Vautrin previously said the penalty could be around €135.

The ban does not apply to e-cigarettes and smoking remains allowed on the terraces of bars, restaurants and cafes. In France, known as a nation of smokers, smoking has long been banned in schools and schoolyards, public transportation, enclosed public spaces, offices and playgrounds. According to the French Center for the Monitoring of Drugs and Addictions, the number of smokers in 2023 was 30% lower than in 2000.

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The economic impact would amount to 14.9 billion euros lost in tax revenues at the level of member states, in a context marked by budgetary pressures and economic instability in several European countries.

InfoMarket also writes that the KPMG report indicates an increase, which was largely driven by France. This country would be the largest market for illicit cigarettes in Europe.

This records 18.7 billion illicit cigarettes consumed last year, equivalent to 37.6% of the total cigarette consumption in the country. Of these, nearly 7.8 billion cigarettes were counterfeit.

And in the Netherlands, the volume of illicit cigarettes has increased by 1.1 billion units, more than double compared to the previous year, reaching 17.9% of the total cigarette consumption. If these products had been purchased legally, the French state would have collected an additional 9.4 billion euros, and the Dutch one almost 900 million euros.

“Illicit tobacco trade threatens the European economy, public health, safety, and social stability. Currently, markets with high taxes and prices, such as France and the Netherlands, are particularly affected by illegally imported and counterfeit cigarettes. The massive socio-economic impact of this phenomenon affects tax collection, job creation, and the activity of legal businesses. Moreover, the availability of cheap and unregulated cigarettes undermines efforts to reduce smoking and transition to a smoke-free future,” declared Christos Harpantidis, Senior Vice President for External Affairs at Philip Morris International.

Can the phenomenon be controlled?

Several European countries have already demonstrated that the phenomenon can be controlled through coherent and well-applied measures. Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, and Portugal, and outside the European Union, Ukraine, have made remarkable progress in combating illicit trade in tobacco products. For example, Greece, in 2024, reported the largest decrease in illicit cigarette consumption in the last ten years, by 6.2 percentage points, reaching up to 17.5%.

“Predictable tax regimes and strong support for local authorities’ actions have proven to be effective. Other countries in the region should follow this example, to regain control over this dangerous phenomenon. This is the right direction if we truly want to combat illicit tobacco trade in Europe, a phenomenon that affects the economies of the continent, undermines competitiveness and economic growth, and creates fertile ground for other criminal activities. Citizens can no longer afford the loss of essential budget revenues, at a critical time for Europe, when these resources should be invested in key areas such as defense, internal security, and social programs,” said Massimo Andolina, President of the European Region of PMI.

In the 38 European countries included in the KPMG study, in 2024, 52.2 billion illicit cigarettes were consumed, which represents 10% of the total consumption. The losses from tax revenues are estimated at 19.4 billion euros.

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