Progress in combating cigarette smuggling: controlling the supply chain

Abstract

Background:The illicit tobacco trade results in huge losses of revenue to governments, estimated at $US40–50 billion in 2006, and in increased consumption and thus health problems because it makes tobacco available more cheaply. On 20 October 2008 the second meeting of the International Negotiating Body (INB2) on the illicit trade protocol of WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) will discuss measures to tackle the illicit trade in tobacco products.Methods:This paper presents the experience over the last decade of three countries, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, which shows that tobacco smuggling can be successfully tackled.Conclusion:The evidence strongly suggests that the key to controlling smuggling is controlling the supply chain, and that the supply chain is controlled to a great extent by the tobacco industry.

Price and Tax Measures and Illicit Trade in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: What We Know and What Research Is Required

“…The cigarettes were then smuggled back into Canada by organized crime syndicates with no tax paid. The Canadian cigarette manufacturers were complicit in organizing the smuggling and paid significant fines to the Canadian government in out of court settlements and admission of guilt fines (Joossens & Raw, 2008). Recently, illicit cigarette trade has again resurfaced with cigarettes coming from Native American Reservations that are immune to government intervention.…”

“…Several European countries, namely the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy, have seen a dramatic reduction in illicit trade without lowering taxes (Joossens & Raw, 2008). Methods used to reduce illicit trade include the use of improved technology to scan shipping containers, fiscal markings (tax stamps), tracking and tracing systems, increased punishment, more customs officers, and campaigns to increase public awareness.…”

Die Schweiz und der internationale Kampf zur Beendigung der Tabakepidemie

“…Wie mehrfach gezeigt wurde, sind die internationalen Tabakkonzerne dabei direkt beteiligt, und der Schweiz kommt als Drehscheibe des Transports und der Finanzflüsse eine bedeutende Rolle zu [3,4]. Diesen Handel zu unterbinden ist unentbehrlich, um die Verbreitung der Tabakepidemie in ärmere Länder zu verhindern.…”

Public Health in Europe: Power, Politics, and Where Next?

“…This led to legislating for warning labels on cigarette packs, bans on smoking in public places, increased taxation, and measures to combat smuggling (in which the leading tobacco companies were often complicit). 46,47 In a few cases they went even further, as when the Minnesota Attorney General initiated litigation against the industry, leading to the disclosure of millions of their internal documents, casting light on the tactics they had been using to subvert evidence and policies. Thus, tobacco consumption has only dropped substantially more than thirty years after the initial research showed it to cause lung cancer.…”