KYIV, Dec 9 – Ukraine has been increasingly failing to prevent illegal market for cigarettes, while the industry has been facing uncertain future with sales dropping steeply, CEO of Philip Morris Ukraine Kostas Salvaras said.

Salvaras, citiong to the company's data, said today the illegal cigarette market is 9%. This includes smuggling, counterfeiting and cigarettes with counterfeit excise stamps. One in 10 cigarettes sold is illegal. For comparison: in 2016, the share of illegal cigarettes was 1%.