Assessment of Illicit Tobacco Trade in Suriname Using Discarded Packages

This Report was written by Medical Scientific Institute (MWI) in Suriname and Economics for Health. The report examines illicit tobacco trade with a collection of discarded cigarette packs. In total, 2,367 packs were analyzed to collect information on the brand, presence of a tax code or stamp, a health warning label, the manufacturer, and the country of origin. The researchers found that between 74.3% and 84% of collected cigarette packs did not comply with national legal requirements, which suggests that taxes were not paid on most of these packs. 31 different brands were represented, and Oris and Tradition made up 73.3% of total collection. Three of the brands and a legible Suriname tax code, and only three Marlboro packs had a tax stamp. This assessment is challenging, however, since the tax stamp is placed on the outer cellophane wrapper, which is often discarded, and the tax code is relatively small and can be easily damaged. Only 16% of the packages had compliant health warning labels, while 1,758 packs had either noncompliant warning labels or were clearly missing a warning label. 76.6% of the packs were either from Germany or the United Arab Emirates. The report concludes with recommendations for policy makers to implement best practices to effectively reduce illicit trade and strengthen control of the supply chain.