Régie lost half its sales due to smuggling. $200 million annual losses from illicit cigarettes

Sales by the Régie Libanaise des Tabacs et Tombacs (Régie), the State-owned tobacco monopoly, have dropped by 46 percent in the last five years. This is attributed to smuggling of imported cigarettes, which increased from six percent in 2012 to 30 percent last year, according to Régie.

Nassif Seklawi, Director General of Régie, said that the state's loss from the illicit trade of cigarettes is around $200 million annually. Around 7,000 violation tickets were i...

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