Towards a greater understanding of the illicit tobacco trade in Europe: a review of the PMI funded 'Project Star' report.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Following a legal agreement with the European Union (EU), Philip Morris International (PMI) commissions a yearly report ('Project Star', PS) on the European illicit cigarette trade from KPMG, the global accountancy firm.

Methods

Review of PS 2010 report. Comparison with data from independent sources including a 2010 pan-European survey (N=18,056).

Findings

Within PS, data covering all 27 EU countries are entered into a model. While the model itself seems appropriate, concerns are identified with the methodologies underlying the data inputs and thus their quality: there is little transparency over methodologies; interview data underestimate legal non-domestic product partly by failing to account for legal cross-border sales; illicit cigarette estimates rely

SUBMITTER: Gilmore AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4078702 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature