39% of Ukrainian kiosks, shops and other outlets that have the right to sell tobacco products, including selling contraband cigarettes from Russia and Moldova, as well as counterfeit tobacco products.
This was reported by the State Inspectorate for Consumer Protection (Derzhspozhyvstandart).
As part of the study was to selectively checked 842 retail facility, which is the right of retail trade in cigarettes in the 24 regions of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Kyiv and Sevastopol. The range of 330 tested sites were found illegal cigarettes.
As noted in the press service of Derzhspozhivstandart, the prices at which such cigarettes are sold, the price significantly lower than for legal tobacco products.
According to a study, the number of outlets that sell illegal tobacco products in 2011 increased significantly. For comparison, a similar study Derzhspozhivstandart at the end of 2010 showed that illegal cigarettes sold at that time only 23% of tested outlets.
The most strained situation with the sale of illegal cigarettes in 2011, was formed in Rivne, Odessa and Kiev.
In the capital, 75% of the scanned objects traded in illegal tobacco products (mainly smuggling from Russia and Moldova, as well as cigarettes from shops Duty-Free). In the Odessa region trade and smuggling forgery fixed at 56% of sites.
As previously reported, in Ukraine, 16.5 million people smoke. Legal cigarette production in Ukraine has decreased in 2010 to 22% for 6 months. 2011 - another 11%. In Ukraine, the highest in the CIS excise tax rate: 60% of the value packs of cigarettes are excise duty and VAT.