Number of seized contraband cigarettes remains high; some turn to cigarettes over vapes
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Singapore Customs seized 3.24 million packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes between January and November 2025.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE CUSTOMS
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- Singapore Customs seized 3.24 million packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes in the first 11 months of 2025, comparable to 2024's 3.26 million and sharp rise from 2020 to 2022.
- A 15 per cent rise in excise duties in February 2023 increased the price of legal cigarettes, potentially pushing consumers to cheaper, illegal options, despite stricter enforcement.
- A discipline master said contraband cigarette use among his students has risen since September, coinciding with stricter anti-vaping penalties and fines.
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SINGAPORE – The quantity of contraband cigarettes seized by Singapore Customs in the first 11 months of 2025 was comparable to the number of duty-unpaid cigarettes seized in the same period in 2024.
A total of 3.24 million packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized between January and November 2025 – slightly fewer than the 3.26 million packets of contraband cigarettes uncovered in the first 11 months of 2024, Singapore Customs told The Straits Times.
The figures for 2025 and 2024 represented a sharp increase from the roughly two million packets of illicit cigarettes seized annually between 2020 and 2022.
While the latest seizure figures were a slight decrease compared with the same period in 2024, “there is still a lot of pent-up demand for contraband cigarettes due to the price difference between the legal retail price and the contraband price”, said a market analyst, who declined to be named.
In Singapore, a carton of 10 packets of premium cigarettes – each containing 20 sticks – can cost about $160. In comparison, touts sell a similar carton of contraband cigarettes for $60.
This means that for each carton of duty-unpaid cigarettes, a tout who buys
The steep price of legal smokes can be attributed to the recent 15 per cent rise in excise duties. In February 2023, the Government raised the excise duties for all tobacco products, potentially generating about $100 million in additional revenue a year.
While the move was aimed at discouraging tobacco consumption, the Tobacco Association (Singapore) said “the 15 per cent increase in tobacco excise duty in 2023, against the backdrop of escalating living costs and a subdued market outlook, may be pushing consumers towards cheaper illegal options that include cigarettes and alternatives”.
The recent increased enforcement efforts on the growing black market have been commendable, said the association. The seizures and enforcement numbers were indicative of the elusiveness of the black market, and a growing consumer demand for illegal cigarettes despite the prohibition, it added.
On Nov 30 and Dec 1, Singapore Customs seized the largest inland haul in 2025
Inland hauls refer to seizures that do not occur at border checkpoints. Smuggling attempts of duty-unpaid cigarettes are typically detected at Singapore’s land borders, where the cigarettes are hidden among food products and in false compartments in vehicles.
Meanwhile, at least one institute of higher learning told ST that it has seen an uptick in the number of students caught smoking contraband cigarettes on campus.
A discipline master, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that since September, the number of such students has overtaken those caught for vaping.
“From the start of September, there was a drastic change... The number of students detained for vaping has decreased tremendously, but the number of students smoking (contraband cigarettes) has gone up terribly,” he said.
He had previously told ST that his institute handled an average of about 200 cases – mostly vaping offences – a month over a three-month period from October 2022. The students were nabbed with e-vaporisers on school grounds or beyond its premises.
Since Sept 1, the authorities have enhanced the penalties
Those caught vaping will be slapped with increased fines of $500 for those below the age of 18 and $700 for adults, up from $300 and $500 previously. Vaping was outlawed in Singapore in February 2018.
The Government’s tough stance on vaping – treating it as a drug issue – was announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his National Day Rally speech on Aug 17
Given the possibility that some former vape users have turned to contraband cigarettes to get their fix, experts have called for increased enforcement action to curb supply.
Mr Chris Humphrey, executive director of the EU-ASEAN Business Council, said that more needs to be done by all ASEAN member states on the matter. He noted that around US$4 billion (S$5.2 billion) a year in regional government revenue is lost to illicit tobacco.
Mr Humphrey told ST: “When there is demand, criminal groups will find some way to provide the supply.
“While enhanced penalties may curb some consumption of such products, it is unlikely to eradicate it altogether.”
Singapore Customs said it adopts a whole-of-government approach, and works closely with partner agencies to detect and deter revenue and trade offences.
A Customs spokesman said: “This strong collaboration – from intelligence sharing to coordinated multi-agency operations – ensures that offenders are dealt with appropriately. Through continuous intelligence-driven enforcement efforts, Singapore Customs has seized more than 180 tonnes of duty-unpaid cigarettes over the past three years.”
Under the Customs Act and the GST Act, buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, possessing and dealing in duty-unpaid goods are serious offences.
Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years. Vehicles used in committing such offences are also subject to forfeiture.
