Despite declining cigarette consumption in Hungary, the illegal market grew by three percentage points, which meant roughly 500 million cigarettes were consumed in 2022, which is 7.2% of the total consumption.

Despite the decline experienced in recent years, the share of the illegal market at home has reached the level of 2019 again, mainly due to products manufactured explicitly for contraband and, to a lesser extent, counterfeit tobacco products, according to KPMG.

Illegal tobacco products with a designation of origin arrive in Hungary mainly from Ukraine, it wrote.

According to KPMG's calculations, the Hungarian budget lost about HUF 31 billion in excise tax revenue last year due to tobacco products from illegal sources.