Cigarettes obtained outside standard retail channels account for nearly half of total consumption, according to a survey cited by Norway Today.

In the city of Trondheim the percentage of cigarettes introduced from abroad was highest, at 53.6 per cent, Norway Today said, citing a report in the newspaper Adressavisen. The average was 47.2 per cent in the eight cities where the survey was performed, reportedly on behalf of Philip Morris International, Imperial Tobacco, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International.
In the past, Swiss-based MSIntelligence has conducted empty-pack surveys in Norway for major tobacco companies. A 2010 survey showed one in three of a sample of 5,000 cigarette packs either was purchased duty free or smuggled into the country. Cigarettes cost roughly NOK 95 a pack (EUR 10.40).