|
|
|
|
15% of cigarettes in Ireland are illegal
A new study has found that 15% of cigarettes consumed in Ireland are classed as illegal. This widespread use of illegal cigarettes could be costing the state millions of euro a year in foregone tax, the Revenue Commissioners, the state’s tax authority, has said.
A recent survey of 500 smokers carried out by Ipsos MRBI, and commissioned by Revenue, found that 15% of the packs held by smokers surveyed were classified as illegal, meaning that they were contraband or counterfeit. It was also found that a further 9% were non-Irish duty paid, meaning they were legally purchased in another jurisdiction and brought into Ireland by the smoker.
“Total cigarette consumption in Ireland in 2019 is estimated to be 3.3 billion, or 164 million packs,” Revenue said. “At an illicit rate of 15 per cent, approximately 484 million illegal cigarettes, or 24 million packs, are consumed in Ireland.” Revenue said that this represents a “potential” loss to the state exchequer of approximately €242 million, between foregone excise duties and VAT.
However, it added that in reality the amount would likely be lower if there were no illegal cigarettes, as it is likely that less would be consumed overall.
“This is viewed as a notional loss in exchequer tax revenue as it assumes that the illegal cigarettes consumed would displace the equivalent full tax paid quantity of cigarettes, which is unlikely to be the case,” Revenue said.
The percentage of illegal cigarette packs consumed in Ireland has fluctuated somewhat over the past decade — it was 16% in 2009, falling as low as 10% in 2016, before rising again in recent years.
“The 2019 results suggest numbers of illegal packs remain relatively stable compared to the earlier survey results,” Revenue said.
Source: The Times, 27 June 2020
|
|
Australia: Vape shop owner says ex-smokers are stockpiling liquid nicotine and will be forced onto the black market if e-cigarettes are outlawed - as import ban is delayed at the last minute
The owner of one of Australia's biggest vaping stores has warned that stopping the importation of liquid nicotine would force reformed smokers onto a dangerous black market. Max Fichkin, who runs The Steamery in Sydney, said vapers were already stockpiling litres of nicotine ahead of a July 1 ban on sourcing the drug from overseas.
“What I'm hearing is that every single retailer of nicotine in New Zealand - which is the quickest way to get it into Australia - is officially sold out,” Mr Fichkin said. “There are people that are buying it by the litres in response to what the government has done.”
Meanwhile, Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt has made a last-minute decision to delay a ban on importing nicotine, that was set to be implemented from July 1, until next year.
Mr Hunt said the ban would reduce the risk to public health through addiction to nicotine and nicotine poisoning. The move is supported by health bodies including the Cancer Council, Heart Foundation and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
But on Friday Mr Hunt said there was a “group of people who have been using these e-cigarettes with nicotine as a means to ending their cigarette smoking”.
“In order to assist this group in continuing to end that addiction we will therefore provide further time for implementation of the change by establishing a streamlined process for patients obtaining prescriptions through their GP,” the statement said.
“This will give patients time to talk with the GP, discuss the best way to give up smoking, such as using other products including patches or sprays, and if still required, will be able to gain a prescription.”
Vapers are already required to have a prescription from a doctor to import nicotine as an aid to stop smoking but the law was largely being ignored.
Source: Mail Online, 28 June 2020
|
|
South African court extinguishes bid to overturn tobacco ban
A South African high court on Friday dismissed a bid by tobacco makers — The Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) — to unban sales of their products, saying the addictiveness of cigarettes did not qualify them as essential products. Since March 27, the government has imposed a tobacco sales ban as part of stringent measures to control the spread of the coronavirus.
Three judges in the Gauteng high court ruled that cigarettes and related tobacco products do not, by their nature, fall into the same category as goods which are life-sustaining or necessary for basic functionality.
"FITA´s argument that cigarettes ought to have been considered 'essential´ because they are additive has no merit," read the judgement. "The fact that a substance is addictive does not render it essential."
Tobacco and alcohol were among the products banned since the beginning of the lockdown, meant to slow down the spread of coronavirus. When President Cyril Ramaphosa lifted the ban on alcohol sales on June 1, he kept the moratorium on tobacco "due to the health risks associated with smoking". In court, the state had argued that the ban on tobacco products was done to reduce access to cigarettes and force people to stop smoking.
South Africa has some 11 million smokers in a population of 58 million. A separate legal battle between the South African government and British American Tobacco South was moved to August on the same day.
Source: Mail Online, 26 June 2020
See also
Financial Times: "BAT court bid to overturn South Africa tobacco ban hit by delay"
|
|
Singapore: Standardised packaging and bigger graphic health warnings will be required on all tobacco products from 1st July
All tobacco products sold in Singapore must have standardised packaging and enlarged graphic health warnings from 1st July 2020, as part of the country’s continued tobacco control efforts, the Singaporean Ministry of Health (MOH) announced today.
Collectively referred to as the SP Measure, the rules apply to all tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, beedies, ang hoon and other roll-your-own tobacco products.
Among the requirements are the removal of all logos, colours, images and promotional information on the packaging of tobacco products. Brand and variant names may be displayed but in a standard colour and font style. The minimum size of the mandatory graphic health warnings will also increase from the existing 50 per cent to 75%.
The decision to implement the SP Measure for all tobacco packaging was first announced in October 2018 following an "extensive process" of reviewing the available international and local studies, research and evidence on the SP Measure, as well as several rounds of public consultations, said the ministry.
To prepare for the full implementation of the SP Measure, tobacco manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retailers were given a 12-month adjustment and preparation period starting from 1 July 2019. This included a three-month transition period from 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020.
Source: Channel News Asia, 29 June 2020
|
|
Have you been forwarded this email? Subscribe to ASH Daily News here.
For more information call 020 7404 0242, email [email protected] or visit www.ash.org.uk
ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
