Philip Morris reports dip in illicit tobacco in EU

Tobacco giant Philip Morris International (PMI) has said that a drop in the illicit tobacco trade reported in a recent research report is borne out in its own second-quarter results.

In May, KPMG issued its annual Project SUN report looking at the illicit trade in the EU, Norway and Switzerland which concluded that counterfeit and contraband cigarette consumption declined 3.3 per cent in volume in 2014, with France and the UK being notable exceptions.

PMI reported a lower-than-expected decline in tobacco industry volume in the second quarter of around 3% that resulted from "improving microeconomic conditions and moderation in the level of illicit trade," which was offset by reduced uptake of e-vapour products.

"The moderation the level of illicit trade in the quarter is consistent with the findings of [the] KPMG study," said PMI's chief financial officer Jacek Olczak.