More than 2,000 UK retailers have been caught selling illegal cigarettes in the past year, new Freedom of Information (FOI) data has revealed.
The figures expose the widespread availability of non-duty-paid tobacco products across the country, despite ongoing enforcement efforts, which raises concerns around product safety and quality control.
Nicotine pouch retalier Alternix analysed FOI data to determine which areas of the UK are the biggest culprits when it comes to the illegal cigarette trade.
In the results, it found Liverpool City Council reports the highest number of illegal cigarette trades in 2025/26 so far, followed by Newport and Lancashire.
125 retailers have been selling non-duty-paid cigarettes in Liverpool in 2025/26 - the highest in the UK. The council there has seized £105,520 worth of non-duty-paid cigarettes this year, the data showed.
Newport City and Lancashire County councils were found to hve 106 and 92 retailers selling illegal cigarettes respectively. In Newport, £106,163 of non-duty-paid cigarettes have been seized.
Other councils in the top ten include Dudley Council (83 retailers), Sheffield City Council (50 retailers) and Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (49 retailers).
In terms of the value of illegal sales, Rochdale Council topped the list - with an estimated value of tobacco sold at £1,282,448. Medway came second, totalling £630k of seized sales.
Other councils in the top ten include Barnet Borough (£313,533 seized), Cardiff (£216,807) and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough (£214,792).
David Phillips, from Alternix, said of the results: “Illicit tobacco continues to present a significant challenge in the UK. These products bypass the regulations designed to protect consumers and reduce harm, making it harder to achieve meaningful progress on smoking cessation rates.
“Encouraging smokers to switch to regulated, smoke-free alternatives is a critical part of the solution, but that can only happen effectively within a well-enforced and properly regulated market. If we want to tackle this issue, there needs to be a balanced approach, allowing adult smokers to make better choices.”
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