Trading Standards target Gloucester's illegal tobacco trade
SHOCKING new figures show one in five smokers in Gloucestershire have tried illegal cigarettes smuggled into the county.
Trading standards say the black market economy for bootleg cigarettes is worth more than £200 million a year in the south west alone.
Children and those living on a shoe-string budget are being targeted by criminal gangs who supply 'tab houses' to feed illegally imported cigarettes into communities.
Enforcement officers from Trading Standards in the county say they are struggling to stay ahead of the suppliers in the lucrative trade.
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The county unit is focusing on town centre shops in Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud.
Tobacco seizures are tested by industry experts, often showing dangerous levels of tar and carbon monoxide. Traces of rat droppings and sawdust have also been found in some cases.
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 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."
Help is available in Gloucestershire for smokers wanting to kick the habit.
Elaine Watson from the Gloucestershire NHS Stop Smoking Service supports those wanting to quit from the specialist centre in Southgate Street.
"We have been here since 2008, in the first week there were 10 people through the door now it is more like 200 a week," she said.
"It is a free service with behaviour support and also medication such as nicotine replacement therapy and we can reduce the cost with a prepayment certificate.
"We can help people to manage the triggers that get people to pick up a cigarette.
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.
Read more about Gloucester's illegal tobacco in Monday's Citizen.
11 Comments
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by lordigaga
Monday, March 11 2013, 7:04PM
“cheltdav
it already is in the main EU counties”
by geraint2010
Monday, March 11 2013, 10:53AM
“The amount of revenue collected from tobacco DOES far exceed the cost of smoking related diseases to the NHS. Furthermore smokers tend to die younger thus drawing less in the way of state pensions and benefits along with the various costs relating to support services for the elderly. And with tobacco in some EU countries being less than one quarter of the UK cost the health fascists seem dangerously close to chopping off the hand that feeds them.”
by Walker100
Monday, March 11 2013, 8:55AM
“A quick Google seems to show that cardiovascular disease cost to the NHS and tobacco tax are around the same annually, around £15b. I have no doubts, though, that there are plenty of different figures in the etherverse!
This does not mean that all cardiovascular disease is caused by smoking but, also, does not take into account the secondary costs caused by smoking such as time off work etc.
As a man closing rapidly on 50 years of age I am now on my third bout of giving up. I know all the health benefits of giving up but the struggle is enormous. Any youngster who is smoking or thinking about smoking and reading this. Help yourself now. Don't. You are not immortal, it will catch up with you and it will be extremely hard to kick the habit.
Try this. Give up for 3 days. Then walk passed a smoker!”
by raidermanuk
Sunday, March 10 2013, 7:37PM
“Studley1975
Do you not realise that many readers (including myself) do not even bother to read your comments simply due to every word beginning with a cap? You might think it makes your comments stand out by being different. If you do you are correct but the reaction from other readers is not probably what you want!
Why not try caps for everything? ;-)”
by Judas
Sunday, March 10 2013, 3:21PM
“I would suggest the amount of revenue collected from tobacco far exceeds the cost to the NHS.”
by Studley1975
Sunday, March 10 2013, 7:59AM
“Tobacco Is Taxed So Highly Because Of The Health Effects & Drain It Puts On Our NHS. Having X2 People In The Family Treated For Lung Cancer Through Smoking, The NHS Bill Must Have Been Astronomical, I Gave Up, But Never Moaned As I Fully Understood Why They Were Priced So Highly. I Never Purchased Illegal Tobacco, It Helps Fund Organised Crime/Terrorism & Is An Even Greater Risk To Ones Health.”
by cheltdav1
Sunday, March 10 2013, 7:58AM
“the eu should set the tax on tobacco. that way the price would be virtulally the same if you were to buy it in the uk or europe, the only slight differnce being the exchange rate.”
by cheltdav1
Sunday, March 10 2013, 7:51AM
“the eu should set a set the ammount of tax on tobacco. So if you bought it either in the uk or europe tobacco would be about the same price (the difference being the exchange rate which isnt much).”
by gloscityguy
Saturday, March 09 2013, 6:23PM
“When I used to smoke I would buy illegal tobacco if I could.
Seeing as the tobacco was all made in the UK,
in the same factory,
one was exported to Europe, and smuggled back,
the other went straight to the shelves and costs three times as much.
Buying 50g of rolling tobacco for £5, or buying it from a shop for £15, really even if you objected morally, that is a large difference for same product.
As a non-smoker I think they should stop making tobacco altogether, as you get addicted to it as a child, who starts smoking at 30?, no, it's 15yr olds in school.
and they say is as hard to give up as heroin.
Speaking of which I think they should use the resources in hunting down illegal tobacco and use it to find and stop hard drugs. but then that doesn't affect the money the government gets from tax.”
by Justica
Saturday, March 09 2013, 3:57PM
“Illegal tobacco has been on sale in some small open-all hours shops, resulting in convictions. It is an offence and should be treated as such, however sympathetic you are to the high price. Several people I know would state the ever increasing price of cigarettes was a major factor in giving up and this has brought other benefits, including the most important - health.”