Counterfeit Marlboro Found with Spelling Errors and Incorrect Values – BVTE Highlights Illegal Trade

Berlin, October 2, 2026 – The German Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products (BVTE) has highlighted another instance of illegal cigarette trade, presenting a counterfeit Marlboro Red as the "Smuggled Cigarette of the Week." This pack was purchased from street vendors in Berlin for approximately 50 Euros per carton.

The packaging closely mimicked the original Marlboro Red, but several details revealed its fraudulent nature. Notably, health warnings contained spelling errors, such as "Zahne" instead of "Zähne" (teeth) and "schädligt" instead of "schädigt" (damages). Further discrepancies included the absence of the German tax stamp and the use of the same track-and-trace code across multiple examined packs.

The emissions information listed on the pack (8 mg tar, 0.6 mg nicotine, 8 mg carbon monoxide) is outdated, as such values have been prohibited on cigarette packs in the EU since 2016. Laboratory analyses of the cigarettes revealed substantial deviations from the stated figures, with measured averages of 12.5 mg nicotine-free dry condensate, 1.13 mg nicotine, and 13.2 mg carbon monoxide per cigarette. These measured values would not be compliant for products marketed within the EU.

"Consumers who purchase cigarettes on the black market do not know what they are actually getting," stated BVTE Managing Director Jan Mücke. "With counterfeit cigarettes, consumers can neither rely on the information on the packaging nor on compliance with legal product specifications. What they are actually consuming is entirely uncertain."

The BVTE estimates that one in five cigarette packs consumed in Germany is not properly taxed, underscoring the significant scale of illegal tobacco trafficking.