3 March 2008
ASH Scotland’s Chief Executive Sheila Duffy today [Monday 3 March] said more action needed to be taken to tackle smuggled cigarette sales which divert £2.9 billion in revenues from the UK Treasury and put money in the pockets of organised criminal gangs. Publishing an ASH Scotland briefing paper on tobacco smuggling Ms Duffy said:
“The smuggling of counterfeit cigarettes is a major source of illicit tobacco along with large scale container fraud of cigarettes and smaller scale individual trafficking and is a growing area of smuggling that must be tackled by the UK government.
“Often those supplying counterfeit or smuggled cigarettes are viewed as ‘Robin Hood’ type figures but this is an image we must get away from as both the large scale smuggling of legal cigarettes and the counterfeit trade are linked with organised crime. When you buy counterfeit or smuggled cigarettes you are helping to support organised criminal gangs who may also be involved in the trafficking of people, of illicit goods such as drugs and arms, and possibly terrorism.
“To most people, cheap cigarettes are just that. However there is a bigger price to pay. When people buy counterfeit cigarettes, they’re supporting organised crime. The criminals getting cheap fake or smuggled cigarettes onto our streets are often the same people that are using their supply routes to get other illicit goods onto the black market, whether that is cigarettes, drugs or other illegal or counterfeit goods. These organised gangs also deliberately target low income communities where smoking prevalence is highest, but equally so is the rate of ill health caused by tobacco.
“Illicit cigarette sales undermine the public health messages and smoking cessation services that are funded through the NHS. Therefore all efforts that are made to prevent young people starting to smoke, help others to quit, and to stay quit are being undermined by the influx of cheaper cigarettes – counterfeit or smuggled. The UK Treasury is also deprived of almost £3 billion every year in taxation. This is money that should be spent on our public services not going into the pockets of organised criminal gangs.
“To stop organised criminal gangs getting their illegal products onto our streets we need to tackle the supply and distribution chains and stop the activity. Next week’s Budget is the perfect opportunity for the UK Government to announce more funding for HM Revenues and Customs to increase enforcement activity that will crackdown on tobacco smuggling.
“Increased enforcement has had success with Revenues and Custom’s Tackling Tobacco Strategy reducing the illicit tobacco share of cigarette sales from 21% to 16%. However the illicit cigarette market is dynamic and criminals move fast and react quickly to customs measures that see their profit margins reduce and supply chains disrupted. Criminals have turned from genuine cigarette smuggling to smuggling cheaper fakes as an alternative and more profitable source with the result that counterfeit cigarette smuggling has risen from 15% of the illicit market in 2001/2 to 54% in 2003/04. Therefore our law enforcement agencies face new challenges in the fight against illicit tobacco and must have the strategy and resources to tackle it. It is also important that there is greater co-operation between the enforcement agencies of countries across the world.
“Tobacco smuggling is an international phenomenon, and requires an international solution and we would encourage the UK government to sign up to the new Protocol on the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products which has been proposed for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and measures such as:
● an international system to track and trace tobacco products which would further secure the distribution system and assist in the investigation of illicit trade;
● obligations for tobacco manufacturers to control their supply chain with penalties for those that fail to do so;
● criminal and civil sanctions that are sufficient to deter individuals and entities from participating in illicit trade;
● resources and programs which would enable law enforcement bodies to combat illicit trade;
● increased cooperation and sharing of information between countries to help in tackling smuggling and the investigation and prosecution of offences
● increased manpower on the ground to tackle the smugglers who are bringing illicit cigarettes into the country“We must also make the public aware that those who buy smuggled and counterfeit tobacco are supporting organised criminal gangs who are involved in various illegal activities and only concerned with making tax free money not the health or wealth of the public.”
ENDS
Sheila Duffy is available for interview.
For further information please contact Jeanette Campbell 0131 220 9466
Notes for editors
ASH Scotland is the leading voluntary organisation campaigning for effective tobacco control.
Tobacco smuggling – a briefing paper is available from ASH Scotland and can be downloaded from www.ashscotland.org.uk.
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