Hotspot for bootleg tobacco
Dec 6 2007 by Audrey Barton, The Journal
THE North-East is today playing host to a summit attended by experts from across the country on counterfeit and smuggled tobacco.
A new generation of young people in the region are being hooked on smoking thanks to the availability of cheap counterfeit and smuggled tobacco, according to Fresh, Smoke Free North East.
Up to one in five cigarettes and half of loose tobacco in the region is sold at knockdown prices, making it more attractive and affordable for youngsters.
Most people who start smoking become hooked before the age of 18 and cheap cigarettes at £3 a packet from illicit sellers ensure more people experiment with tobaccoOne out of two smokers will die from their addiction.
Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh, Smoke Free North East, said: “Cheap illegal tobacco is a real problem in the region, and what’s worse is that these products are readily available in our most deprived communities where there are already high rates of lung cancer and heart disease.”
The event, which has been organised by Fresh along with colleagues from Yorkshire and Humber and the North-West, will feature Deborah Arnott, director of Action on Smoking and Health, John Kinghorn from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and Rob Hornsby, a lecturer in criminology at York University who spent a year undercover with criminal gangs smuggling illegal tobacco.
Mr Kinghorn, HMRC’s head of detection for the North of England, said: “This is one of the worst areas in the UK for the illegal importation and sale of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.
“People sometimes assume that tobacco smuggling is a fairly low-level crime and often the public turn a blind eye to it but what they don’t realise is that it means big business for criminals.
“Many smokers think they are getting a good deal but these cigarettes are usually cheap because they not the genuine article.
“Counterfeit cigarettes are even worse for your health than normal cigarettes and it is not easy to tell the difference between a genuine cigarette and a counterfeit cigarette until it is too late.”
