A new European study featured in Autónomos y Emprendedor reveals how steep tobacco taxes are driving a boom in cigarette smuggling across 28 countries, eroding public revenues and endangering self-employed tobacconists' livelihoods. EPICENTER analysis shows a statistically significant correlation: every €1 tax-driven price hike boosts the black-market share by 5–12 percentage points. Nations like France, the UK, Greece and Ireland have experienced sharp illicit trade rises after major tax increases, with legal sales plummeting while smoking rates hold steady—shifting consumers to contraband and empowering criminal networks.