In this CNBC original documentary, Correspondent Brian A. Shactman reports on an industry that continues to thrive despite all we know about the dangers of smoking.

50 million Americans, and nearly a billion people overseas, still light up every day.

And as cigarette taxes continue to skyrocket in the United States, driving the price up to as much as $14 per pack, a crime wave is booming, with black market profiteers cheating the U.S. government out of $5 billion in cigarette tax dollars each year.