NYIREGYHAZA, Hungary – Smuggled cigarettes have ignited a booming business, thanks to the Hungarian government’s tightening of tobacco sales, Agence France-Presse reports. Several smugglers told the news agency that business has been brisk ever since the government crackdown over the summer, when nearly 90% of licensed tobacco sellers were shut down. Currently, only 5,300 stores hold tobacco licenses, down from 42,000.

That has opened the door for a black market to provide cigarettes to a country where around 46% of men and 34% of women smoke. “Before, you could buy cigarettes everywhere, in every shop, in pubs,” said Nora Ritok, who heads the nonprofit organization Igazgyongy. “Now it’s banned and there are many smaller villages where you won’t find an (official) cigarette shop … That’s why the black market is developing.”

While it’s difficult to judge how large Hungary’s black market is, the number of seized contraband cigarettes has skyrocketed from 85 million taken during from January to October, compared to 68 million for all of last year. Hungary banned smoking in public areas in 2009.

The government has seen a dramatic decrease in the amount of cigarette tax revenue, which dropped to 24 million forints ($110,522) from 36 million forints in 2012 ($165,783). Some see the government’s efforts to curb smoking as working.

“I think there are a lot of people who are now smoking less,” said Janos Murci, who heads an anti-smoking group. “That’s because the price of cigarettes has gone up — in two years, they’ve gone from 600 forints ($2.75) per pack to 1,000 forints ($4.60) — but also because of the tobacco reform, as there are towns where there are absolutely no cigarettes for sale.”