Ramūnas Mačius, spokesman of the association, said that smuggled cigarettes currently account for around 30 percent of all cigarettes sold in the country.
"This is still a rather high percentage. Taking 1 percent of cigarettes off the illegal market brings 11 million litas (EUR 3.2 mln) in additional budget revenue," he told the parliament's Budget and Finance Committee.
Kęstutis Glaveckas, the chairman of the commission, said that the contraction of the illegal tobacco market is a very good sign.
He added that the reason why the illegal market in Lithuania is so high is that it borders countries where cigarettes are much cheaper.
The lawmaker said that he hopes that following Russia's World Trade Organization accession, the country will also raise excise taxes on tobacco products, and price differences will diminish.
