Survey Finds 57% Of Discarded Cigarette Packs Had No Irish Duty Paid

More than half of the cigarette packs examined in a new industry-commissioned survey did not carry evidence that Irish excise duty had been paid.

The 2026 Empty Pack Survey, conducted on behalf of Japan Tobacco International (JTI) Ireland, examined 5,000 discarded cigarette packs collected from streets and public bins in 22 of Ireland’s largest towns and cities. The packs were gathered between February 16th and April 3rd last.

According to the then findings, 57% were classified as non-Irish duty paid, mNo Duty Paid on image suppliedeaning Irish taxes had not been paid on them. However, this category includes both illegal tobacco and cigarettes legally purchased abroad and subsequently brought into Ireland.
Fourteen per cent of all packs examined were identified as counterfeit. Counterfeit cigarettes are manufactured without the brand owner’s permission and are generally produced to imitate legitimate products, deceive consumers and evade taxation.

Significant geographical differences were reported. Galway recorded the country’s highest proportion of non-Irish duty-paid packs, at 75%. Swords followed at 66%, according to the published results. Wexford had the highest reported counterfeit rate, with counterfeit products accounting for 25% of packs collected there. Ennis recorded a rate of 20%, followed by Waterford at 19%.
The survey covered 22 towns and cities, but the accessible reports do not indicate that Clonmel, Nenagh, Thurles or another Tipperary location was included.

Researchers assessed the discarded packs to establish their likely origin, examine their tax markings and determine whether they were authentic.
The findings should be interpreted with some caution. Because the research was commissioned by a tobacco company and relied on discarded packs, it does not necessarily represent the proportion of all cigarettes consumed or sold in Ireland. Empty-pack studies also cannot establish whether every non-Irish duty-paid pack entered the country illegally.

The latest official comparison currently available is Revenue and the HSE’s independently conducted 2024 survey of packs held by smokers. It classified 26% as illegal and another 11% as legal but non-Irish duty paid. Counterfeits represented less than 1% of the illegal packs in that study.