Campaign launched to tackle illegal tobacco trade
An organisation funded by all 14 Primary Care Trusts in the South West to reduce smoking rates in the region has revealed that 1 in 20 (5.2%) of smokers in Devon now smoke illegal tobacco, a trade with a retail value equivalent of £211m in the South West alone.
Smokefree South West has launched a multi-partnership initiative alongside HMRC, Trading Standards, the Police, Crimestoppers and other enforcement partners, Primary Care Trusts and local authorities as part of ongoing efforts to tackle the illegal tobacco trade in the region.
Smokefree South West say while progress is being made (HMRC figures show that in 2010 the associated revenue loss caused by illegal tobacco in the UK was estimated to be £2.18bn, today that figure has dropped to £1.86bn), illegal tobacco remains a serious issue. As part of an on-going campaign pulling together the largest law enforcement organisations in the region, one of their key aims is to further reduce the number of people buying and being offered illegal tobacco in Devon.
According to figures, in Devon, 7 out of 10 (67.2%) people believe that illegal tobacco poses a real danger to children and over 4 out of 10 (45.5%) illegal tobacco smokers agree that the reduced price of illegal tobacco products allows them to smoke when they otherwise couldn't afford to.
Smokefree South West Director, Fiona Andrews said: “Significant progress has been made since February 2011 when we first launched the campaign to tackle the problem of illegal tobacco across the South West. Our collective efforts to tackle illegal tobacco are having a big effect, but more can be done.
“The illegal tobacco market in the UK has halved in the last decade but still poses a real and present threat to children and local communities. Cigarettes and pouches of hand rolling tobacco are offered to our children at pocket money prices making it cheap and all too easy for our children to smoke and become addicted.
“The only people who benefit from this trade are the criminals who don’t care about what is in the packets they sell. Since illegal tobacco remains part of the range of smuggled and contraband goods traded by criminal gangs it is vital that steady, sustained pressure continues to be applied.”
South West spokesman for HM Revenue & Customs, Bob Gaiger said: "The trade in illegal tobacco across the South West is a very real problem, one that through this partnership initiative we are tackling, but there is more still to be done. Illegal tobacco is often the first stage in a chain of illegal trades that fund criminality.
“These criminals smuggle tobacco and cigarettes illegally into the country. Some of these will be counterfeit and will have been manufactured in completely unregulated environments to be sold at knock-down prices. They do not care about the impact on local businesses, your neighbourhood or your children’s lives, targeting anyone and anywhere they can make money.
“Together, we are focused on breaking the hold these criminal gangs have on local communities across the South West.”
The campaign will be running a local public engagement event in Devon in March to help bring the message of the dangers illegal tobacco poses into local communities.
The sale of illegal tobacco is a criminal offence. Anyone wishing to report the selling of illegal tobacco can report anonymously online to Trading Standards at www.stop-illegal-tobacco.co.uk or call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org. They cannot trace your call and will never ask for your name.
To pledge your support for the campaign or for more information on illegal tobacco go to www.stop-illegal-tobacco.co.uk
What should you look out for when it comes to illegal tobacco being sold?
Smokefree South West say that illegal tobacco can sometimes be hard to spot, but suggest that if you come across anyone selling tobacco products to look out for the following.
- Price less than £3.50 for 20 cigarettes or under £7 for 50g of hand rolling tobacco.
- Missing fiscal mark.
- No health warning.
- Foreign language on packs – specifically the health warning.
- Unfamiliar brands – never heard of it before? Check it out.
- Printing errors on the pack.
- Unusual taste and smell.
