Illegal cigarette trade still dogs Europe's fringes

A battle is being fought on the EU's borders: a struggle to intercept illegal tobacco products, and the stakes keep rising.

In 2015 alone, the illicit tobacco trade deprived EU governments of more than €11bn in tax revenue, a figure projected to have risen even further since then.

This is not to mention the estimated 700,000 in deaths each year from smoking-related illnesses, a number inflated by illegal trafficking.\n \nAs the costs to member states increase, so too do the numb...