Media Coverage

Tobacco display ban criticised
New Zealand Herald Thursday Aug 13, 2009

The black market cigarette and tobacco trade could flourish if a law banning retailers from displaying tobacco products was introduced, the NZ Association of Convenience Stores says.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10590544

Tobacco tax hike will "boost smuggler profits".
International Business Times, 13th July 2009

A proposed hike in cigarette tax will make the importation of illegal tobacco more profitable, potentially enticing new players into what is already a booming criminal market.

http://www.ibtimes.com.au/articles/20090713/tobocco-tax-hike-will-quot-boost-smuggler-profits-quot.htm

Illegal smoke trade has plenty of puff
The Australian, 4 July 2009

NSW will soon be the first state to introduce a ban on the display of cigarettes in shops, with other states to follow. The article also addresses the issue of the illicit tobacco trade, which includes both “chop-chop” and filter cigarettes.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25730607-2702,00.html

NSW Government regulations & red tape to cost small business millions
Australian Association of Convenience Stores Press Release, 24 June 2009

Retail display bans in NSW will cost convenience stores $167 million in the first year alone, and over $100 million every year after once introduced, and $38 million extra compared to the same laws in Victoria and Western Australia.

http://aacs.org.au/aacs/documents/AACS_press_release_24_June_09.doc

Customs stems unprecedented flood of smuggled cigarettes and tobacco
Customs Press Release,19 December 2007

Australian Customs has detected unprecedented quantities of smuggled cigarettes and tobacco over the past year destined for the domestic market.

http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?c=9804%20

Contraband Cigarettes Undermining Tobacco-Control Efforts in Canada
AHN, 8 Sept. 2009

Making cigarettes more expensive, and other tobacco control measures, are causing more children in Canada to turn to contraband smokes, according to a CMAJ study.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7016331920?Contraband%20Cigarettes%20Undermining%20Tobacco-Control%20Efforts%20In%20Canada

Alarming rate of contraband tobacco use by teens: CMAJ
Canwest News Service, 8 Sept. 2009

Despite substantial controls on tobacco, youths continue to smoke, whether it’s contraband or regular cigarettes. Nearly one in five packs of cigarettes lit up by Canadian teen smokers are contraband products says a new report from the CMAJ.

http://www.canada.com/health/Alarming+rate+contraband+tobacco+teens+CMAJ/1971636/story.html

Tobacco ban attacked by expert: Similar move in Canada led to shops closing and jobs being lost, says store boss
The Press and Journal, 19 March 2009

Ministers claimed youth smoking fell after the display of tobacco products was banned in Canada. The CCSA says the evidence does not back the assertion and that the ban put numerous small shops out of business.

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1130204?UserKey=

Government wins vote on banning tobacco displays from shops
Telegraph.co.uk, 7 May 2009

In Iceland since the tobacco display ban came into force 30% of small shops have closed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5287055/Government-wins-vote-on-banning-tobacco-displays-from-shops.html

Injured police office now in serious condition
BBC News, 30 June 2010

A police officer is now said to be in a serious but stable condition after being hit by a lorry during an anti-smuggling operation in south Armagh.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/northern_ireland/10453504.stm

Massive Cigarette Seizures in Dublin
Irish Times, 9 June 2010

Over half a million cigarettes have been seized over the past four days at Dublin airport, as a result of an investigation focusing on tobacco smuggling gangs from Lithuania.

http://www.ireland.com/news/massive-cigarettes-seizure-in-dublin/428554

Call for Garda Taskforce on cigarette smuggling
The Independent, 3 June 2010

A dedicated Garda taskforce is needed to tackle the black market trade in smuggled cigarettes, shopkeepers claimed today.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/calls-for-garda-taskforce-on-cigarette-smuggling-2206647.html

'3m euro' cigarettes haul seized

Belfast Telegraph, 19 April 2010

A lorry load of black-market cigarettes worth about 3 million euro has been seized.

The massive haul of Marlboro was hidden in a shipment labelled "office furniture" which traffickers attempted to smuggle through Dublin Port. Some 7.2 million cigarettes were recovered by customs after they carried out risk-profiling on freight trucks coming off a ferry.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/uk-ireland/3m-euro-cigarettes-haul-seized-14772775.html#ixzz0mCNkVIN4

Recession forces cocaine gangs to move into the booming illegal cigarette market
The Irish Times, 22 February 2010

When GARDAI and Customs officers staged a major raid on suspected cigarette smugglers in Monaghan last November they found something they weren’t expecting.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0222/1224264939173

The cigarette smuggling centre of Europe
The Irish Times, 20 February 2010

Smoking in Ireland fell sharply after the workplace ban and we briefly led the world in anti-smoking measures. Six years on, the country is a tobacco smuggling blackspt, and a quarter of cigarettes smoked here are illegal.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2010/0220/1224264861986

Counterfeit cigarette sellers will be prosecuted
Tribune, 6 September 2009

The commission is set to introduce a new tax stamp present on all cigarette packets sold in Ireland as part of a massive crackdown on the burgeoning black market.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/sep/06/counterfeit-cigarette-sellers-will-be-prosecuted/

Sale of black market cigarettes rife in Athlone
Westmeath Independent, 12 August 2009

The sale of black market cigarettes in Athlone is rife and is resulting in job losses at legitimate retailers around the town, [according to] a local businessman.

http://www.westmeathindependent.ie/news/roundup/articles/2009/08/12/390366-sale-of-black-market-cigarettes-rife-in-athlone

Cigarette smuggling rampant in Donegal
Donegal Democrat, 11 August 2009

A Donegal retailer has warned that many small shops and newsagents will be forced to close unless measures are undertaken to stem the flood of illegal cigarette smuggling and counterfeit substitution in the county. Donegal Town shop owner, Maurice Timony, believes that unless the issue of tobacco smuggling is addressed, then Donegal is likely to see more and more retailers being forced to close their shutters permanently.

http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/donegalnews/Cigarette-smuggling-rampant-in-Donegal.5539956.jp

Newsagents’ group opposes tobacco retailing legislation
The Irish Times, 26 March, 2009

A forthcoming ban on the display of tobacco, tobacco products and tobacco advertising in all shops is "too onerous" and should be delayed for a number of years, according to the chief executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagent Association.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0326/1224243450412.html

Over 600 newsagents face closure, group warns
The Irish Times, 13 February 2009

According to the Convenience Stores Newsagents Association (CSNA) which represents 1,500 small and medium sized retailers around the country, about a dozen stores are closing down each week.The CSNA said that while the recession has had an impact on convenience stores, new regulations such as tobacco display bans and compliance issues have also hit shop owners.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0213/breaking50.htm

Normal tobacco sales
Brønnøysund Avis Nett, 11 March 2010

On 3 April 2009 a POSD-ban for tobacco products was adopted. The ban has been effective from 1 January 2010. But the stores in Brønnøysund have not noticed any change in sales

http://www.banett.no/nyheter/article341283.ece