Illegal cigarettes now make up over half of Ireland’s market

How illegal cigarettes reach Irish streets

The KPMG analysis, commissioned by tobacco giant Philip Morris, found that counterfeit cigarettes rose by two-thirds in 2025.

Meaning more than one in three smokes consumed in the Republic is now counterfeit or contraband.

The report estimates more than 1.1 billion unregulated cigarettes were consumed in Ireland last year, equating to over €810 million in lost tax revenue, up €76 million on the year before.

It follows a string of illegal factory finds, including a Louth plant capable of producing 700,000 cigarettes a day and cross-border operations exploiting the Northern Ireland frontier, one able to churn out 1.5 million a day.

Michael Callanan, who runs two Centra stores in north Dublin, said the trade is spreading fast.

"It’s definitely getting worse, people can get them everywhere," said Callanan.

"There’s WhatsApp groups, there’s Snapchat groups, there’s even young guys delivering now on e-scooters."

With legitimate retailers left undercut by untaxed products and factories still being uncovered, pressure is mounting on Revenue and gardí to stem a trade that is deepening Ireland’s cost-of-living squeeze.