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February 13th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda - Black market tobacco costing an estimated £2billion a year in unpaid tax
- Fakes contain far higher levels of chemicals such as arsenic, lead and cadmium
By
Daniel Miller
Last updated at 11:05 AM on 13th February 2012
One in seven cigarettes is either smuggled or fake, a study of discarded packets has found.
The black market tobacco, most of which contains far higher levels of chemicals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium, is costing the country an estimated £2billion a year in unpaid taxes.
Trading standards officers in Lincolnshire collected more than 1,350 discarded cigarette packets, with only six out of seven of them found to be legal.
Higher risk: One in seven packets of cigarettes is fake or smuggled according to a study of discarded boxes
The Lincolnshire study correlates with figures from HM Revenue and Customs estimating the market share for fake and counterfeit cigarettes across the country as a whole.
For the year 2009-10 HMRC estimated that between 4 and 16 per cent of cigarettes consumed in the UK were illicit with the figure for rolling tobacco much higher at up to 50 per cent over the same period.
Fake cigarettes and rolling tobacco contain nearly six times as much lead as genuine products, causing massive damage to the organs and nervous system, especially in children.
The products, most of which are manufactured China and Russia, also contain higher levels of Cadmium which is linked with Kidney disease and arsenic which increases the risk of lung, liver and other cancers.
Seizure: Black market tobacco is costing the UK £2billion a year in unpaid tax
The fakes, which are often sold in pubs or street markets for between £3-£4 a pack, have also been found to contain sawdust, tobacco beetles and even rat droppings.
John Seale, head of public protection at
North East Lincolnshire Council, said: ‘It is not surprising that, in
these difficult financial times, some smokers are tempted to turn to
cheap brands of cigarettes and hand- rolling tobacco to save money.
HOW TO SPOT THE FAKES
- An unusual or unexpected taste
- Spelling mistakes and altered logos
- Low quality labels and packaging
- Foreign safety warnings or no health warnings at all
- Often sold in street markets, car boot sales and pubs
- Most copied brands are Super Kings, Benson Hedges, Lambert Butler, Camel, Embassy Number 1, Embassy Regal and Golden Virginia tobacco
‘However, many of these cigarettes are made overseas in premises where hygiene is poor and the quality of materials used is substandard.
‘There are also no requirements to limit tar or other constituents – so you really have no idea what you are smoking.
‘This is why the council works proactively to seek out and punish illegal tobacco sellers. Those who are caught will be prosecuted.’
In their survey of 1,353 packets collected from across the country, the Lincolnshire Trading Standards team discovered 20 different brands of counterfeit cigarettes and rolling tobacco.
The Russian-produced brands LM and Jin Ling were the most common, although Marble cigarettes, which are produced in China, and counterfeit Super Kings, were also commonplace.
Trevor Parkin, Tobacco Control Alliance co-ordinator, said: ‘One of our greatest concerns is that sellers of cheap cigarettes will readily sell to underage people.
‘This illegal market therefore poses a real threat to the future health of our young people.’
The results of the probe were unveiled as a Grimsby man appeared before magistrates after he admitted possessing 4,620 illegal cigarettes.
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I would of thought that the statistics may be false as I’d assume someone paying for illegal cigarettes would also be more likely to discard them irresponsibly making the ratio more for illegal cigarettes as more discarded packets would be of the illegal variety
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Yes Lincolnshire first stop for illegal vodka and tobacco !
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who cares
– jim ruptert, china, 13/2/2012 10:13
I do, increased health risk to smokers, possible greater long term cost to the NHS, loss in tax revenue which will be dragged from another section of society and more criminal gangs making money supplying dangerous products. This is something to be worried about. Especially if they’re selling these products to kids.
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According to your other report a junk food diet is good for you and the more poisons one consumes the quicker you overcome any health related issues.
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Correction where I live they are sold in the big 4 supermarket outlets, have been for over a decade. HM Customs and Excise (HMCE) duty lost would amount to the wiping out of Britains debt in a single stroke. However the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as it is since 2005, can’t be bothered.
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Sorry Dave Oban, the basic cost of the product is fairly small it’s the hideous amount of tax and duty that are applied that makes the total cost unreasonable. Like most governments though the present government will not ban them because although they are supposedly cancer sticks the politicians like the lovely lolly they raise, and no I don’t smoke!
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If taxes were not so high there would be no market for those fakes cigarettes, and we might even be able to generate more tax revenue (from the extra sell of legal cigarettes instead of the fake ones)
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They government don’t care about your health, they only care about the loss of revenue
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If they weren’t overtaxed people wouldn’t be able to sell counterfeits. The Country would make more money, and people wouldn’t be as much at risk. We never seem to have a Chancellor who has had the intelligence to see this though.
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Once again ‘piracy’ raises its ugly head and all because the basic cost of the product is totally unreasonable.
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