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Action urged to crack down on tobacco smugglers Print E-mail
Wednesday, 18 June 2008

The image of bootleggers as ‘Robin Hood’ types must be stamped out and laws enforced to keep children away from illicit tobacco, according to ASH Scotland.

Speaking ahead of the 2008 Scottish Tobacco Control Alliance (STCA) annual meeting, which will see 80 representatives of local agencies from across Scotland come together to discuss partnership working to prevent children from starting to smoke, Sheila Duffy, chief executive, ASH Scotland said:

“To ensure future generations don’t become hooked on cheap, illicit cigarettes it’s important the law continues to be enforced.  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 illegal cigarettes and the counterfeit trade are linked with organised crime. Law enforcement agencies face new challenges in the fight against illicit tobacco and must have the strategy and resources to keep it away from our children”.

The Scottish Government’s Smoking Prevention Action Plan, which was published last month, laid out plans to strengthen links with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to crack down on illegal tobacco products, which cost the UK Treasury nearly £3bn a year.

David Thompson, chair, Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards Scotland, added:

“As Trading Standards Officers continue to clamp down on retailers who sell cigarettes to children, it’s vital that equal attention is given to ‘backstreet’ sellers who peddle counterfeit tobacco.  To this end, working to develop greater links between Trading Standards and HMRC is essential."

Delegates will also hear from Ailsa Rutter, director, Fresh Smoke Free North East, who will discuss the work being done in the North of England to highlight the harm cheap and illicit tobacco is having on local communities. 

Rutter said the supply of cheap and illegal sources of tobacco products is “undermining” all other efforts to reduce smoking.

She continued: “These cheap packets can keep smokers addicted to the lethal toxic time bomb of tobacco smoke and make it easier for children to experiment with smoking”.

You can view, ‘Scotland’s future is smoke free A Smoking Prevention Action Plan’ here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/05/19144342/13

 

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