The devastation caused by the economic crisis has been well-documented in recent years.

One trade that surged, however, just as the Irish economy collapsed, was cigarette smuggling.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan, responding to a parliamentary question by Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin, has published a 10-year overview by Revenue.

The figures reveal that the trade in illicit and non-duty paid tobacco boomed as smokers, faced with falling incomes, rapidly rising unemployment and steadily increasing prices, turned to illegal sources to feed their habit.