Tobacco smuggling has been an industry that is hard to control. However, Britain has finally taken control and is winning the war concerned with cheap cigarettes being imported illegally. The products are usually targeted at children and those who are short on money, giving them a deal that is very hard to refuse.
Currently, the black market operates at 9%, a massive fall from figures in 2000, where one in five of cigarettes was sourced from the black market. The amount of smugglers fell by 22% over the same period of time, showing just how much the black market has fallen. Cheap cigarettes made it easier for people to obtain cheap cigarettes, meaning they were readily available and also avoiding tax on the products. The cheaper the cigarette the more appealing they will be to children, which is encouraging younger people to take up the habit.
image by electroniccigarettes
Currently, the black market operates at 9%, a massive fall from figures in 2000, where one in five of cigarettes was sourced from the black market. The amount of smugglers fell by 22% over the same period of time, showing just how much the black market has fallen. Cheap cigarettes made it easier for people to obtain cheap cigarettes, meaning they were readily available and also avoiding tax on the products. The cheaper the cigarette the more appealing they will be to children, which is encouraging younger people to take up the habit.
image by electroniccigarettes
Therefore, the British Government is taking action against the black market, with most action being taken by the UK Boarder Agency and HM Revenue & Customs. The action came due to businesses in the tobacco industry worrying that smugglers were taking a large fraction of their trade and are also worrying the introduction of standardised cigarette packets would encourage more people to produce black market products as they are easier to counterfeit.
MP’s have denied that the tobacco industry has anything to worry about but are taking more precautions to put their minds at ease and it seems they don’t have anything to worry about, with the amount of smugglers still decreasing considerably. Previously, some tobacco cigarette manufacturers deliberately exported more cigarettes than needed, knowing they would be smuggled back into the UK. There has been action taken against this and it is unlikely this problem will continue.
