North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to take a lead role in clamping down on demand for illicit tobacco products.
Questioning the First Minister in the Assembly Chamber yesterday, Mr Isherwood said the 2016 Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association’s ‘Smoker’s Anti-illicit Trade Survey’, an online UK survey into adult smokers’ awareness, behaviour and attitudes towards illicit tobacco, found that 62 per cent of Welsh smokers purchased non-UK duty paid tobacco products, and urged the Welsh Government to take action to address the problem.
He said:
“The financial rewards of this illicit trade are high; the penalties are low. This is threatening one in eight corner shops in Wales and across the UK, and, most worryingly, people don’t fully understand the added health risks of this type of tobacco. What consideration has your Government given alone, or perhaps working with the Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, to tackle this?”
In his reply, First Minister Carwyn Jones said it is hugely important that people are able to provide intelligence to the enforcement agencies.
He said:
“I know that checks are carried out at the airports, particularly from areas that are seen as areas of risk when it comes to importing tobacco and cigarettes, particularly from jurisdictions where the prices are very, very low. But, obviously, we seek to work with HMRC in order to reduce and eliminate smuggling.”
Mr Isherwood added: “The survey found that more than half of Welsh smokers have no idea what restrictions there are on the amount of tobacco/number of cigarettes they can bring into the UK legally, almost half of Welsh smokers believe that it is ok to buy tobacco overseas and bring it back to the UK to sell to friends and family, and 58% of Welsh smokers have not reported the sale of illegal tobacco because it was ‘none of their business’.
“The Welsh Government should therefore be taking a lead role in clamping down on demand for illicit tobacco products via both better public awareness and deterrents.”