The black market for cigarettes rose to nearly 14% of total consumption in July, the highest level in the past decade

Romania’s black market for cigarettes reached nearly 14% of total consumption in July 2026, up 3.4 percentage points from May, when it stood at 10.5%, according to data from Novel Research. This was the largest increase recorded in the past decade.

The sharpest rise was reported in the northwestern region, where illegal trade increased by 8.4 percentage points to 17.4%. In Bucharest, the black market reached 17.5%, following an increase of 8.1 percentage points. The south remains the region with the highest share of illegal products, at 19.5%, followed by the northeast, at 18.8%.

By source, Duty Free products account for 29.7% of the black market, while those originating from Bulgaria account for 26.9%. Products of unknown origin exceeded 20%, while the share of products from the Republic of Moldova fell to 10.2%.

The industry estimates annual budget losses of approximately 700 million euros.

In the first seven months of the year, authorities seized more than 61 million cigarettes and nearly ten tonnes of tobacco.