The National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) reported that 3 out of 10 cigarettes of cigarettes consumed in Mexico are of illegal origin, which has generated losses in collection for 26,700 million pesos annually.
“The illicit market already concentrates 28 percent of consumption in Mexico, even surpassing formal actors in the tobacco sector,” reveals the Center for Economic, Administrative and Social Research (CIECAS) of the IPN.
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This figure has tripled since 2017, while smoking levels in Mexico have been constantly constantly constantly constantly constantly, despite the sustained increase in taxes on legal products, explains the study that gives continuity to the analysis carried out by the National Institute of Public Health in 2017 and 2023.
The investigation collected and analyzed 9,125 packs in 11 cities throughout the country concluding that for 2025 more than 11 billion cigarettes are consumed that do not comply with current regulations or the payment of taxes to these products.
The results indicate that 8 of the 11 cities where the study was conducted has doubled its percentage of illicit trade consumption (comparing against the study by the INSP in 2023), while the cities that have the highest percentage of this scourge are Guadalajara with 49 percent, Monterrey with 46 percent and Mérida with 37 percent.
In this sense, the IPN mentions that the illicit trade of cigarettes represents a decline in tobacco control policies in Mexico, since the low cost and easy access to illegal cigarettes encourage consumption, weakens the effectiveness of laws and the application of the law and fiscal policy.
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Likewise, the study urges the Mexican State to continue implementing measures to fight against the consumption of illicit cigarettes in order to protect tax collection and strengthen the security of the country.
