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New Approach to Protect Children

Published: 2010-09-29    Views:82 reads

 

Brief: Across the north of England the sale of illicit cigarettes to children has emboldened campaigners and law enforcers to amalgamate to prevent further influxes of contraband products.

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Across the north of England the sale of illicit cigarettes to children has emboldened campaigners and law enforcers to amalgamate to prevent further influxes of contraband products.

A new social marketing initiative, Get some answers, has been launched to encourage people to alert the authorities if they know about illegal sales of tobacco. The Smoke Free North West group has warned residents about the effect of contraband sales, and released eye-opening figures that 60 per cent of 14 to 17 year olds who smoke regularly are purchasing fake cigarettes.

The campaign has received wide support; prominent research company YouGov's survey concluded that 74 per cent of people in the area supported a crackdown on smuggling and that three quarters of residents would report anyone who they knew was selling illicit cigarettes.

The Get some answers campaign was launched recently in St Helens, a large town situated between Liverpool and Manchester. Activities will include the targeting of mothers with graffiti-style advertisements, street teams and large billboards with messages hoping to prompt residents to report any link to contraband goods.

The campaign website has outlined what to look out for to decipher whether a product is illegal. Foreign brands like Raquel and Jin Ling are to be dismissed as counterfeit. Prices of illicit cigarettes will be significantly reduced, and cheaper versions of popular brands, such as Lambert and Butler, are to be treated with suspicion. Health warnings on the counterfeit packets will not be in English; illegitimate cigarettes are also known to have an unusual taste and packets will be without picture health warnings.

Get some answers was born out of the "North of England Tackling Illicit Tobacco for Better Health Programme", which began in 2007 after three regional tobacco policy managers joined forces from the North West, North East and Yorkshire and Humber regions.

The main objectives of the campaign focus on the prevention of informal markets, developing partnerships with law enforcers, the UK border agency, local police and revenue and customs. Furthermore, they are meant to raise public awareness of the health and legal issues of illicit cigarettes. "Get some answers is not designed as a quit-smoking campaign but as part of a control structure, as illicit cigarette sales are a serious issue affecting young people and the retail sector," opined David Wiggins, interim strategic programme manager for Smoke Free North West.

The smuggling routes are varied, including passengers carrying products by air or sea, but the largest seizures are taken from cargo containers. Organised gangs from eastern Europe, the old Soviet bloc and crime rings from the Far East are blamed for importing fake produce, which include jewellery and clothing along with cigarettes.

As part of a national campaign, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), working alongside the UK Border Authority, are active in prevention and detection, as legal trade is damaged by floods of illicit cigarettes. They have already signed a protocol with municipal councils, ensuring that anyone who is suspected of involvement with counterfeit products is investigated.

According to most recent HMRC figures, the current gap in tobacco revenues to the treasury owing to lost taxes is GBP 1.8 billion (EUR 2.16 billion).

Tobacco manufacturers are just as keen to keep a close eye on illicit trade. A spokesperson for HMRC said: "We work closely with the tobacco manufacturers in the field of counterfeit product, where we both have incentives to reduce the problem. In partnership, we have introduced anti-counterfeit marks on cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco. Manufacturers acknowledge and work with us to reduce the quantities of genuine product that are smuggled into the UK. We have also an agreed memorandum of understanding on some issues and supply chain control legislation."

The extensive measures introduced by the authorities, like more frontline staff, networks of X-ray scanners, tough seizure legislations and enhanced intelligence, have had proven success.

Hundreds of criminal gangs have been broken up and HMRC have ordered GBP 35 million (EUR 42.05 million) worth of confiscation orders, recovering the proceeds of crimes; so far this strategic approach has reduced the illicit market by nine per cent from 2000 to 2008.

However, illicit cigarette trade is a market which is continually changing to outwit legislation and detection methods, and the campaigners in the north of England will have to keep getting answers if they want to win the battle against the bootleggers.