Tweet PUBLIC health experts say a campaign that links plain cigarette packaging with children buying ”chop chop” – unbranded loose tobacco – from criminal gangs is grossly misleading and indicative of a desperate industry. The Association of Australian Retailers, which is bankrolled by big tobacco, has been running advertisements claiming children as young as 14 are smoking illegal tobacco smuggled by ”highly organis ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Slow government response to repeated complaints of illegal tobacco sales has cost the state and legitimate distributors millions of dollars, according to longtime Oklahoma City tobacco wholesaler Alan Beck. Slow government response to repeated complaints of illegal tobacco sales has cost the state and legitimate distributors millions of dollars, according to longtime Oklahoma City tobacco wholesaler Alan Beck. For six years, Beck has compla ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet DANGEROUS illegally imported cigarettes that are being pumped into the region are posing a serious risk to the public, say experts. Smokefree North West has recently seen a surge in tobacco barons in Russia and China who are helping recruit a new generation of smokers through cheap illicit imports and hand rolled tobacco. The packets either carry no health warnings at all, or written in Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese or Danish. In the last six ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet COURTLAND — Life after tobacco was on the minds of many a constituent out to see Progressive Conservative MPP Toby Barrett (Haldimand-Norfolk) at his New Year’s levee. “Our area down here has really been kicked in the teeth,” Barrett said. “Our farm economy has taken a beating over the past three or four years.” Barrett said the illegal sale of tobacco supplied by smugglers has brought Norfolk tobacco far ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet More than 114 million cigarettes worth 38 million euro have been seized by Customs over a three-month period. The Irish Tobacco Manufacturers Advisory Committee (ITMAC) warned the illegal tobacco trade is sweeping across the country, with Cork becoming a major target for smugglers. Figures showed that between April to August some 25 million illegal cigarettes were seized across Cork, with a value of 8.3 million euro. Just four people were p ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Contraband cigarettes are so easy to find in Eastern Canada that illegal tobacco now corners about half the market in Ontario, according to the Canadian Convenience Stores Association. It also comprises about 40 per cent of Quebec sales and 30 to 35 per cent of those in the Maritimes, and the illegal activity is now moving into Alberta — an upward trend of “constant growth” in the $2.5-billion underground industry over the pas ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Wholesalers claim millions are going uncollected due to fraud The Oklahoma Tax Commission is missing out on more than $1 million a month in tax collections by refusing to strongly enforce state tobacco tax laws, an Oklahoma City wholesaler has alleged. “Legitimate distributors are being forced out of business,” said tobacco wholesaler Alan Beck, who operates a wholesale business at 2305 S Agnew Ave. Beck said he has complained to T ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Donegal newsagent and NFRN member Maurice Timony will tomorrow morning lodge a High Court challenge to contest the Irish Governments ban on tobacco display. He is backed by the world’s largest cigarette company Philip Morris in the joint lawsuit which seeks to overturn the ban on the display of tobacco products at retail stores in Ireland. While the NFRN supports the Governments intentions on public health, a display ban is simply bad pol ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Tory MPP Toby Barrett says he is already working on another line of attack against the burgeoning trade in contraband cigarettes after his private member’s bill to cut tobacco taxes was shot down after spirited debate in the legislature. Barrett, who represents Haldimand-Norfolk riding, which includes the heart of Ontario’s troubled tobacco growing sector, said Monday he was not surprised at the heavy rejection of his bill late ... Jump to full article >>