Canada - action must be taken to control the illicit cigarette problem..

September 26, 2010 - Opposition politicians and interest groups say governments need to take much more aggressive action to halt the contraband (illicit, illegal, smuggl;ing, contraband, balck market) tobacco trade in the wake of a National Post investigation that has revealed an industry virtually out of control.

The New Big Tobacco: Inside Canada’s underground tobacco industry, a five-part series..

WHO may have a solution to the contraband problem..

Dirt-cheap contraband cigarettes have been flooding the market over the past decade, accounting for 30% of the total Canadian market and nearly 50% in Ontario, according to various estimates. Experts worry it is to blame for a levelling off of smoking rates that had been plummeting for years.

A large proportion are smuggled across the border from plants on the U.S. side of the Akwesasne reserve near Cornwall. Much of the rest are produced on three First Nations reserves in Ontario and Quebec, where tobacco is seen generally as a positive force that has brought jobs and increased wealth.

"The problem is getting near a tipping point," said Mark Holland, the Liberal public safety critic. "If contraband tobacco becomes too prevalent, it just becomes socially acceptable.... If we cross that line, if we have that tipping point, it will be almost impossible to stamp out."

Reference: Calls for aggressive action to stamp out illegal tobaccoTom Blackwell, National Post, 9/24/2010.

Canada - cigarette smuggling (illicit, illegal) related briefs:
The New Big Tobacco: Inside Canada’s underground tobacco industry, a five-part series..;
Canada - federal govt announced new initiatives to combat cigarette smuggling..;
Canada - even federal servants smoke illegal cigarettes..;
Canada - tobacco firms settle cigarette smuggling case..;
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