Is hand-rolling tobacco a problem for the proper functioning of the internal market ?
According to the Commission report, there is a problem of smuggling of hand-rolling tobacco between the high price countries such as Ireland and the United – Kingdom and the low price countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands. The Commission is not very consistent in describing the smuggling problem of hand -rolling tobacco. It is known that the market of hand-rolling tobacco is limited in the UK (around 3,000 to 4,000 tons). According to the Commission, illegal sales in the UK have been estimated to account for around 5 % of the total sales of hand-rolling tobacco” (p 18, section 4.6). 5 % of a small market does not seem to be a major problem. Nonetheless, on the same page (p 18, section 4.8) the Commission observes “to the extent that this situation is giving rise to considerable fraud”, which means that the smuggling problem is again a major problem according to the Commission. However, looking at the sales figures of smoking tobacco in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the U
