Over-regulation of cigarettes threatens rule of law and Good Friday Agreement
As the MP for North Antrim, I am still reeling from the news that 1,000 jobs in my constituency are set to be lost with the closure of the JTI/Gallaher tobacco factory. The devastation that this will cause to the area cannot be overstated. There are some who would see this as the inevitable fallout from the decline in smoking rates, but in truth much of the blame lies with the over-regulation of the tobacco industry, and those who championed it. And it is these same lobby groups that are pressurising the Irish and UK governments to rush ahead with plans to introduce plain packaging of tobacco products which Minister James Reilly has recently stated will be debated in the Dáil on February 17.
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Chamber Calls For Intensive Campaign Against Smuggling
Africa Chamber of Commerce, Mr Foluso Phillips, yesterday in Lagos called on regulatory bodies to beef up their campaign against smuggling. Phillips who made the appeal in an interview with newsmen stressed that the phenomenon was on the rise because the regulatory bodies were not as firm as they should be. So when you talk about fake products, I will turn around and say it behooves on the Customs and NAFDAC to do their work.
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Fake-free China might not be better off
Pseudo-Prada bags, sham Apple stores, even artificial eggs – China’s ability to generatefake versions of familiar items is legendary. Around three-quarters of knock-off goods seized by U.S. and European customs come from the People’s Republic. The government has been talking a good game, including what looks like a new focus on fake goods sold via the country’s biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba. The trouble is that incentives aren’t straightforward. While copying hurts innovation and trust, a counterfeit-free China wouldn’t be good for everyone.
http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2015/02/11/fake-free-china-might-not-be-better-off/
Lear MoreRevenue officials say cigarette smuggling is growing
Minnesota revenue officials say they need an additional $1 million annually to crack down on cigarette smugglers and retailers selling untaxed tobacco. Authorities say cigarette smuggling has become a growing problem less than two years after Minnesota raised its cigarette tax to one of the highest in the country. The Star Tribune says revenue officials seized or assessed untaxed tobacco products in more than 40 percent of the 374 retail inspections conducted through the first three quarters of 2014.
Lear More$3 million worth of fake cigarettes seized in Malaysia
Authorities here have foiled attempts by a syndicate to use Malaysia as a transit point to ship RM7.7mil (S$2.9 million) worth of counterfeit cigarettes to the middle east. The syndicate which apparently produced the Gauloises Blondes brand counterfeits in a neighbouring country had attempted to ship out to Lebanon and Turkey some 154,500 cartons which were in transit at Westport when officers from the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry seized them.
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Vietnam orders tobacco firms to pay more for anti-smuggling fund
Vietnamese tobacco firms have been asked to more than triple their contribution to a compulsory funding initiative aimed at cracking down on contraband in the country. According to a new regulation, the Tobacco Association is now required to pay VND3,500 (16 US cents) for each smuggled or counterfeit 20-cigarette pack confiscated in Vietnam, local media reported. The rule is applied for all cigarettes, irrespective of the brand. The old fee was VND1,100 a pack.
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Researchers expect cigarette smuggling to triple if Kansas raises tobacco tax
Kansas lawmakers are debating whether to raise state taxes on cigarettes to help balance the budget. If Kansas lawmakers pass Governor Brownback’s proposal to raise the tax by $1.50 per pack, more people are expected to smuggle cigarettes into Kansas from Missouri and other surrounding states. According the latest data just released by Mackinac, Kansas has the 34th highest tobacco tax in the nation at 79 cents per pack.
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China quality watchdog tells Alibaba fakes threaten China’s reputation
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd must pay more attention to product quality and step up the fight against fake goods sold online, China’s product quality watchdog chief told company executive chairman Jack Ma, according to a statement on Tuesday. The proliferation of shoddy goods online was a threat to China’s reputation, and the ruling Communist Party and government took the issue seriously, Zhi Shuping, director-general of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), said in the meeting on Monday.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/02/10/alibaba-group-fakes-idINKBN0LE12820150210
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Kansas tax hike on tobacco would triple smuggling rates, researchers project
Tobacco smuggling would triple, and nearly half the cigarettes used in Kansas would be illicit, if the Legislature approves Gov. Sam Brownback’s request for a $1.50-a-pack tax increase, according to data released Monday by a Michigan research group.
The tax increase would raise the smuggling rate in Kansas from about 15 percent of cigarettes consumed to 46.5 percent, says the estimate from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market-oriented think tank that annually researches cigarette smuggling in conjunction with the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based tax policy research organization.
http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article9647801.html#storylink=cpy
Lear MoreCourt finds Turkish company guilty of selling fake L’Oreal products
French cosmetics giant L’Oreal has won a lawsuit against Turkish retail chain EVKUR by claiming EVKUR sold fake L’Oreal products. The court has decided to collect the products that have been verified as fraudulent and destroy them. It also decided that EVKUR would pay compensation to L’Oreal. L’Oreal sued EVKUR, which has over 80 stores across the country, in 2009. Everything began when a consumer from the northwestern province of Bursa bought mascara from an EVKUR store, according to the court documents.
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