The article sets out the results of a research of the criminogenic potential capacity of cigarette smuggling. The article provides an analysis of the criminological connotation of the criminogenic potential capacity of tobacco products smuggling and presents the characteristics of the Ukrainian peculiarities of this pan-European problem. The article presents a view of the dynamics and geographical features of countering cigarette smuggling in Europe, regarding the use of FRONTEX (European Border and Coast Guard Agency) and the national border authorities. The article conveys the nature and consequences of the interrelation of cigarette smuggling and cross-border crime, and it identifies the ways to counteract this phenomenon in the context of the harmonization of the policies of different countries and the EU in the relevant sphere. Additionally, the article covers the reasons for the legislative trends in the criminalization of the excisable goods smuggling.