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SINGAPORE \u2013 The quantity of contraband cigarettes seized by Singapore Customs in the first 11 months of 2025 was comparable to the number of duty-unpaid cigarettes seized in the same period in 2024.<\/p>\n
A total of 3.24 million packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized between January and November 2025 \u2013 slightly fewer than the 3.26 million packets of contraband cigarettes uncovered in the first 11 months of 2024, Singapore Customs told The Straits Times.<\/p>\n
The figures for 2025 and 2024 represented a sharp increase from the roughly two million packets of illicit cigarettes seized annually between 2020 and 2022. <\/p>\n
While the latest seizure figures were a slight decrease compared with the same period in 2024, \u201cthere is still a lot of pent-up demand for contraband cigarettes due to the price difference between the legal retail price and the contraband price\u201d, said a market analyst, who declined to be named. <\/p>\n
In Singapore, a carton of 10 packets of premium cigarettes \u2013 each containing 20 sticks \u2013 can cost about $160. In comparison, touts sell a similar carton of contraband cigarettes for $60.<\/p>\n
This means that for each carton of duty-unpaid cigarettes, <\/p>\n a tout who buys<\/p>\n <\/a> the carton from Indonesia for between $20 and $25 can expect to make a profit of $40 or more.<\/p>\n The steep price of legal smokes can be attributed to the recent 15 per cent rise in excise duties. In February 2023, the Government raised the excise duties for all tobacco products, potentially generating about $100 million in additional revenue a year.<\/p>\n While the move was aimed at discouraging tobacco consumption, the Tobacco Association (Singapore) said \u201cthe 15 per cent increase in tobacco excise duty in 2023, against the backdrop of escalating living costs and a subdued market outlook, may be pushing consumers towards cheaper illegal options that include cigarettes and alternatives\u201d. <\/p>\n The recent increased enforcement efforts on the growing black market have been commendable, said the association. The seizures and enforcement numbers were indicative of the elusiveness of the black market, and a growing consumer demand for illegal cigarettes despite the prohibition, it added.<\/p>\n On Nov 30 and Dec 1, Singapore Customs <\/p>\n seized the largest<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n inland<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n haul <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n in 2025<\/p>\n <\/a> \u2013 a total of\u00a017,279 cartons of cigarettes with duty and goods and services tax (GST) evaded totalling over $1.87 million. <\/p>\n Inland hauls refer to seizures that do not occur at border checkpoints. Smuggling attempts of duty-unpaid cigarettes are typically detected at Singapore\u2019s land borders, where the cigarettes are hidden among food products and in false compartments in vehicles. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, at least one institute of higher learning told ST that it has seen an uptick in the number of students caught smoking contraband cigarettes on campus.<\/p>\n A discipline master, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that since September, the number of such students has overtaken those caught for vaping.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the start of September, there was a drastic change… The number of students detained for vaping has decreased tremendously, but the number of students smoking (contraband cigarettes) has gone up terribly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He had previously told ST that his institute handled an average of about 200 cases \u2013 mostly vaping offences \u2013 a month over a three-month period from October 2022. The students were nabbed with e-vaporisers on school grounds or beyond its premises.<\/p>\n Since Sept 1, the authorities have <\/p>\n enhanced the penalties<\/p>\n <\/a> for those caught possessing, using or buying vapes, while recalcitrant users may be required to undergo rehabilitation.<\/p>\n Those caught vaping will be slapped with increased fines of $500 for those below the age of 18 and $700 for adults, up from $300 and $500 previously. Vaping was outlawed in Singapore in February 2018.<\/p>\n