Public opinion on tobacco gray market in the Western Balkans: A cluster analysis approach

Attitudinal studies about gray market of tobacco products are in particular scarce for countries along the Balkan route that has been known as smuggling corridor for centuries. This empirical study fills the gap by using a large survey dataset of 21,000 citizens in seven Western Balkan countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo. The analyses of public opinion on tobacco gray market in the Western Balkans distinguishes smokers and non-smokers, includes a set of individual socio-demographic attributes (gender, age, level of education, occupation, income), and an indicator of the importance of the tobacco sector for the national economy. Citizens are grouped into four distinct clusters based on their attitudes towards tobacco gray market. The typology of citizens in the region reveals that public opinion differs primarily depending on whether an individual is a smoker or not. The most repressive attitudes and opinion that curbing gray tobacco market will reduce smoking come from non-smokers and from citizens of countries that have no comparative advantages in tobacco trade. The results showed the level of public awareness on the negative aspects of tobacco gray market. Finally, the analysis pointed out whether stricter sanctions were rated as appropriate actions to curb the gray market of tobacco, cigarettes and other tobacco products.