Counterfeit cigarettes haul across the county almost topped 200,000
Almost 200,000 ‘illicit’ cigarettes were seized by Trading Standards officers across Lancashire last year, almost five times the number confiscated six years ago. And the number of people prosecuted for selling counterfeit and non-duty tobacco products has also rocketed, an investigation by a Johnston Press newspaper has found.
The price of cigarettes has almost doubled since smoking in public was banned ten years ago, from £5.33 to £9.91. Up to 88 per cent goes on excise duty and VAT, it was estimated. It was also revealed how: n 188,580 sticks of cigarettes were seized by the county council in 2016/17, up from 37,760 in 2012/13; n 27 people were prosecuted, down from 35 over the same period; n Nobody in Lancashire has been caught by police for smoking in a car with children since it was outlawed two years ago; and n Some authorities in the county have not issued any punishment for breaching the 2007 Smoke Free legislation.
Related Posts
Men jailed for cigarette smuggling after getting caught at Dover docks
Video footage reveals the moment a smuggler realised he was going to be caught...
Public health interventions to protect against falsified medicines: a systematic review of international, national and local policies.
Accurate definitions of poor quality medicines are essential. The World Health...
WHITEPAPER – Anti-Counterfeiting Measures: RFID is The New Weapon in the Fight Against Counterfeiting
According to recent estimates from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and...
90% hike in smuggled cigarette consumption in India: FICCI
Consumption of smuggled cigarettes has increased by over 90 per cent, equivalent...