Malaysia’s illegal tobacco trade declines but continues to grow
Malaysian officials announced that 55% of cigarettes are purchased illegally, marking the fourth consecutive annual decline from the 2020 peak of 63.8%. Juliana Mohd Yahaya, managing director of JTI Malaysia, said enforcement against illicit tobacco smugg
Malaysian officials announced that 55% of cigarettes are purchased illegally, marking the fourth consecutive year of decline since the peak of 63.8% in 2020. Juliana Mohd Yahaya, managing director of JT International Berhad (JTI Malaysia), said enforcement efforts against illicit tobacco smuggling and the ban on transshipment of tobacco products are helping address the problem.
“We expect the incidence of illegal cigarettes to continue declining this year,” she said at a press conference discussing the nationwide 2024 annual illicit cigarette study. “The tobacco tax moratorium being implemented by the Ministry of Finance is also helping reduce the incidence of illegal cigarettes. But we know [the moratorium] will end one day, so if the government is going to impose excise tax increases on tobacco products, we hope they will be moderate and predictable.”
Another finding of the study was that a growing number of illegal cigarettes carry counterfeit tax stamps, accounting for 13.8%, prompting companies such as JTI Malaysia to advocate for the government to transition from paper tax stamps to digital tax codes in line with its digitalization initiatives.
Malaysia’s nicotine landscape consists of 23.8% legal cigarette consumers, 29.9% illegal cigarette consumers, 25.3% e-cigarette/vaping/HNB consumers, and 20.4% dual users who consume both conventional and alternative products.
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