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Lack of awareness helps counterfeits

Lack of awareness helps counterfeits

Lack of consumer awareness is one of the main issues in tackling the counterfeiting problem, say industry players. Even brand owners who deploy solutions to prevent counterfeiting do not spread the awareness, which results in consumers not being able to differentiate between counterfeits and genuine products.

According to the FICCI cascade study released in 2013, the grey market for seven sectors namely alcohol and beverages; auto components; computer hardware; FMCG (packaged food and personal goods); mobile phones, and tobacco products, led to an estimated sale loss of Rs 72,969 crores to the industries and a revenue loss of Rs 26,190 crore to the exchequer.

Cigarette smuggling is just as big as cocaine trafficking

Cigarette smuggling alone costs the EU and its Member States €11 billion per year. A turn over which has reached that of heroin and cocaine. This is a business that in Europe involves between 100 thousand and 150 thousand people and causes serious damages to the economy, because of the the evasion of customs duties. An illegal traffic which is now in the hands of real criminal organizations with significant financial resources, as it is clear from an analysis by the Observatory on crime in agriculture promoted by Coldiretti about the action “Duty free” conducted by the Guardia di Finanza of Ancona. It is a serious damage for Italy too. Just think that, since the economic crisis, in the tobacco sector, it has caused a reduction of about 30 thousand workers and 500 thousand tons of product.

http://www.west-info.eu/cigarette-smuggling-is-just-as-big-as-cocaine-trafficking/

Customs seize seven tonnes of tobacco at port of Purfleet

AN attempt to smuggle almost seven tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco into the UK through the Port of Purfleet has been prevented by Border Force officers. The 6.93 tonnes, one of the largest ever seizures made at the port, had been shipped to the UK from Belgium inside a trailer whose contents had been listed as simply “pallets”. Had the smuggling attempt proved successful it would have cost the Treasury approximately £1.77m in unpaid duty.

Md. cigarette taxes have unintended consequences

In recent years, Maryland has substantially raised tobacco taxes. Its current rates of $2 for a pack of cigarettes and 15 percent to 70 percent for other tobacco products like cigars are among the highest in the country. The state enjoys a huge revenue gain from the taxes, but there are ironies and unintended consequences associated with the taxes on tobacco products that may not have been adequately considered. The state itself sends out mixed messages regarding tobacco and cigarettes. On the one hand, it acknowledges the health concerns associated with tobacco products and agrees with health advocates who say taxing cigarettes higher is the right thing to do. So-called sin taxes increase costs with the idea of encouraging smokers to quit and discouraging teenagers from starting the habit

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-cigarette-tax-20141216-story.html

Counterfeit refrigerants ‘potentially dangerous’

Residents in Saudi Arabia are concerned about potentially dangerous counterfeit refrigerants which are increasingly found in the Middle East, a new survey released Satuday by Honeywell revealed.

Counterfeit refrigerants are a dangerous, persistent problem around the world.

After several containers carrying counterfeit refrigerants exploded in 2012, the United Nations Environment Program said that counterfeit refrigerants “appear to be a global issue of concern and a wider range of stakeholders are possibly at risk.”

Cornwall-based Regional Task Force charges five with tobacco-smuggling offences

The Cornwall-based Regional Task Force made a series of tobacco-smuggling arrests through November and the beginning of this month as it continues to police trafficking along the Canada-U.S. border.In the first incident on Nov. 3, a boat with two occupants travelled into a Bainsville area bay of lake St. Francis. The boat did not have navigational lights on.

Task force members swooped in after noticing a white Ford van backing up towards the shoreline and a number of cardboard boxes and one man next to them. A second man was found inside the van with more boxes, which turned out to be 80 boxes of contraband tobacco.

Warning for farm exports, as Chinese counterfeiters rip off Aussie products

An Australian farmer who has been exporting to China is pulling his product out of the market over counterfeit concerns. His move comes as Australian agriculture eyes the fresh opportunities of exporting to China under the recently agreed free trade agreement. Victorian producer David Blackmore, of Blackmore Wagyu Beef, has been selling his product to high-end restaurants in China for several years, but has recently become aware of counterfeit products being passed off as his beef, which fetches a premium price.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-15/nrn-chinese-counterfeits-for-monday/5961030

Black market for illicit tobacco in Devon and Cornwall puts squeeze on already hard-pressed families

A black market in illicit tobacco is engulfing Devon and Cornwall, funding organised crime, damaging health and causing tax hikes for already hard-pressed families.  In a covert operation, special detectives from the tobacco industry have discovered that either smuggled or illegally produced tobacco is available in every corner of the region from small villages to major towns. Former Scotland Yard detective Will O’Reilly, who led the undercover operation, said his team has not expected to see such a widespread problem.