ILLEGAL TRADE IN TOBACCO PRODUCTS INDICATOR

Authors

  • Dimitar Dimitrov Department National and Regional Security, University of National and World Economy (BG)
  • Georgi Penchev Department National and Regional Security, University of National and World Economy (BG)
  • Konstantin Poudin Department National and Regional Security, University of National and World Economy (BG)
  • Georgi Pavlov Department National and Regional Security, University of National and World Economy (BG)
  • Atanas Dimitrov Department National and Regional Security, University of National and World Economy (BG)
  • Vasil Pavlov Department National and Regional Security, University of National and World Economy (BG)
  • Tzvetomira Penkova Department National and Regional Security, University of National and World Economy (BG)
  • Nikola Petrov Department National and Regional Security, University of National and World Economy (BG)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17770/etr2025vol2.8587

Keywords:

drug industry, economic and social effects, smuggling, tobacco smuggling

Abstract

The illicit trade in tobacco products poses a significant challenge to global health by undermining tobacco control efforts, reducing government revenues, and increasing the accessibility of unregulated tobacco products. To address this issue effectively, we introduce the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products Indicator (ITTPI), a comprehensive tool designed to visualize and track illicit tobacco trade patterns worldwide. The ITTPI integrates data on counterfeit cigarettes, contraband activities, and risk factors associated with these illegal practices. By leveraging an interactive mapping system, this indicator facilitates real-time monitoring of high-risk regions and channels involved in illicit trade. Our study demonstrates how ITTPI can be applied across diverse contexts to identify hotspots of illicit activity and predict future trends based on historical data analysis. This approach not only aids law enforcement agencies but also informs policymakers about targeted interventions needed to strengthen regulatory frameworks against tobacco smuggling. By enhancing transparency and coordination among international stakeholders, the ITTPI offers a promising solution for combating the global problem of illicit tobacco trade while supporting broader public health objectives aimed at reducing smoking prevalence worldwide.

 

References

R Core Team, “R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing,” R Foundation for Statistical Computing, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.r-project.org/

D. Dimitrov, "Tobacco Products Contraband & Counterfeit Risk Identification UNWE Economic Alternatives," UNWE :: UNWE Yearbook, Feb. 10, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://unwe-yearbook.org/en/journalissues/article/10162. [Accessed: Mar. 01, 2025].

“The changing landscape of tax policy and administration across 190 economies.” [Online]. Available: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/paying-taxes/pdf/pwc-paying-taxes-2020.pdf. [Accessed: Nov. 02, 2020].

“Methodology for Starting a Business,” World Bank. [Online]. Available: https://archive.doingbusiness.org/en/methodology/starting-a-business

World Bank, “Worldwide Governance Indicators,” World Bank, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators/interactive-data-access

A. Buehn and F. G. Schneider, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Online]. Available: http://ftp.iza.org/dp4182.pdf

F. Schneider and C. C. Willams, The Shadow Economy. London: IEA, 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139542289

F. Schneider and A. Buehn, “Shadow Economies and Corruption All Over the World: Revised Estimates for 120 Countries,” University of Linz, Austria; Technische Universitat Dresden, Germany, 2009. [Online]. Available: http://www.economics.unilinz.ac.at/members/Schneider/files/publications/ShadEconomyCorruption_rev_091009.pdf. [Accessed: Sep. 07, 2017].

I. Mihaylov, “Bulgarian shadow economy accounts for 30% of GDP - study,” SeeNews, Jul. 03, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://seenews.com/news/bulgarian-shadow-economy-accounts-for-30-percent-of-gdp-study-1110983. [Accessed: Mar. 02, 2025].

United Nations, “Statistics and Data | UNODC,” Un.org, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://dataunodc.un.org/

World Bank, “World Development Indicators,” The World Bank, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators

Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), Report on actualisation of composite index “Economy in light”, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://bica-bg.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Doklad-za-Kompozitniaindex-za-20151.pdf

Downloads

Published

08.06.2025

Issue

Vol. 2 (2025): Environment. Technology. Resources. Proceedings of the 16th International Scientific and Practical Conference. Volume 2

Section

Information Technologies

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Dimitar Dimitrov, Georgi Penchev, Konstantin Poudin, Georgi Pavlov, Atanas Dimitrov, Vasil Pavlov, Tzvetomira Penkova, Nikola Petrov

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

[1]
D. Dimitrov, “ILLEGAL TRADE IN TOBACCO PRODUCTS INDICATOR”, ETR, vol. 2, pp. 123–127, Jun. 2025, doi: 10.17770/etr2025vol2.8587.