New Brunswick Budget Makes Contraband Tobacco Worse

The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco (NCACT) said that the New Brunswick government’s decision to increase tobacco taxes by 6.52 cents per cigarette will only serve to fuel the province’s growing contraband tobacco problem. The increase in taxes – more than $14 per carton when the increased HST is considered – is actually more than the cost of many illegal cigarettes.”Illegal cigarettes are a growing and significant problem in New Brunswick, and an increase in the cost of legal product will only serve to make this problem worse,” said Gary Grant, a 39-year veteran of the Toronto Police Service and national spokesperson for the NCACT. “The RCMP indicates that a steady stream of contraband tobacco is making its way into and through the province from factories in Quebec and Ontario. If anything, the smugglers are adapting their smuggling networks to make it even harder for police to disrupt their shipments.”
http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/new-brunswick-budget-makes-contraband-tobacco-worse-567402201.html