According to AFP, more than 64 million packs of smuggled cigarettes were seized at Egyptian ports in May, customs authorities reported on Monday.
The majority of those packs were confiscated at Port Said before they entered the country. Authorities confiscated 56 million packs intended for sale inside Egypt, and an additional 6 million packs being shipped to Ukraine from the UAE.
One million counterfeit packs were seized by police at the Suez Canal.
The World Health Organization has stated that tobacco use is becoming harder to control. AFP reports that 25 percent of adults in Egypt use tobacco products, and 50 percent of all Egyptians are exposed to secondhand smoke inside their own homes.
According to the WHO, the market share for smuggled cigarettes rose from two percent in 2009 to 19 percent in 2013.
