Understanding the U.S. illicit tobacco market : characteristics, policy context, and lessons from international experiences / Committee on the Illicit Tobacco Market : Collection and Analysis of the International Experience ; Peter Reuter and Malay Majmundar, Editors ; Committee on Law and Justice ; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education ; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice ; Institute of Medicine ; National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-219).

1. Introduction -- 2. Characteristics of the illicit tobacco market -- 3. Participants in the illicit tobacco market -- 4. Measuring the size of the illicit tobacco market -- 5. Interventions in the illicit tobacco market: policy and regulatory options -- 6. Interventions in the illicit tobacco market: law enforcement -- 7. Interventions in the illicit tobacco market: international case studies -- 8. Possible changes in tobacco products: considering consumer and supply responses.

"Tobacco use has declined because of measures such as high taxes on tobacco products and bans on advertising, but worldwide there are still more than one billion people who regularly use tobacco, including many who purchase products illicitly. By contrast to many other commodities, taxes comprise a substantial portion of the retail price of cigarettes in the United States and most other nations. Large tax differentials between jurisdictions increase incentives for participation in existing illicit tobacco markets. In the United States, the illicit tobacco market consists mostly of bootlegging from low-tax states to high-tax states and is less affected by large-scale smuggling or illegal production as in other countries. In the future, nonprice regulation of cigarettes - such as product design, formulation, and packaging - could in principle, contribute to the development of new types of illicit tobacco markets. Understanding the U.S. Illicit Tobacco Market reviews the nature of illicit tobacco markets, evidence for policy effects, and variations among different countries with a focus on implications for the United States. This report estimates the portion of the total U.S. tobacco market represented by illicit sales has grown in recent years and is now between 8.5 percent and 21 percent. This represents between 1.24 to 2.91 billion packs of cigarettes annually and between 2.95 billion and 6.92 billion in lost gross state and local tax revenues. Understanding the U.S. Illicit Tobacco Market describes the complex system associated with illicit tobacco use by exploring some of the key features of that market - the cigarette supply chain, illicit procurement schemes, the major actors in the illicit trade, and the characteristics of users of illicit tobacco. This report draws on domestic and international experiences with the illicit tobacco trade to identify a range of possible policy and enforcement interventions by the U.S. federal government and/or states and localities."--Publisher's description.

Description based on print version record.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest, 2015. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest affiliated libraries.