Retailers Against Smuggling has once again called on the government to reduce the amount of tax on tobacco in order to reduce levels of smuggling.
The call follows the publication of a report by the Committee of Public Accounts which highlights that the government is losing billions in revenue to tobacco smuggling.
Ken Patel, national spokesman for Retailers Against Smuggling, said: "While we welcome the hard work that HM Customs and Revenue are doing, the UK's tax rate on tobacco is so wildly out of line with the rest of the EU that the UK will continue to be a hotbed of smuggling while this discrepancy remains."
A recent survey by Retailers Against Smuggling found that 74% of independent shopkeepers said that the only way to stop the tobacco smuggling problem was to reduce or freeze taxes. It also revealed that 21% of independent retailers were considering closing their business as a result of tobacco smuggling.