Tobacco companies could be made responsible for clamping down on cigarette smuggling, with stiff financial penalties for failure, under proposed guidelines for a new global treaty to tackle the multi-billion dollar illicit trade in tobacco products.

The trade is estimated to deprive national exchequers worldwide of $40bn-$50bn (£20bn-£25bn) in lost taxes every year and undermines the drive to raise cigarette prices, which experts say is the single most effective way of deterring people from smoking, especially the young.