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** 12 November 2020
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** UK
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** Campaign in Rochdale leads to increase in reports of illegal tobacco (#1)
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** International
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** Turkey bans public smoking to reinforce mask use (#2)
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** Parliamnetary Activity
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** Tobacco duty rates announcement (#3)
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** UK
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**
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** A public campaign in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, has led to an increase in reports of illegal tobacco sales, enabling Trading Standards to make a number of seizures over recent months. In Rochdale, the Keep It Out campaign generated 12 reports of illegal tobacco being sold between March and October 2020.
In the same period over 1.7 million illegal cigarettes and more than 100kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco were seized across Greater Manchester. This included Trading Standard’s largest ever single seizure in the city region. Enforcement officers in Greater Manchester are warning that cheap tobacco sold locally as “duty-free” during the COVID-19 pandemic is almost certainly illegal.
The alert comes after a public campaign in Rochdale led to a dramatic increase in reports of illegal sales, which has enabled Trading Standards to make a number of seizures over recent months. The Keep it Out campaign, which reveals the true cost of ‘cheap’ illegal tobacco in people’s neighbourhoods, including links to organised crime and the devastating impact smoking has on people’s health, is run by Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, in collaboration with Local Authority Trading Standards and enforcement partners from across the city region.
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Source: In Your Area, 11 November 2020
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** International
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Turkey’s interior ministry has banned smoking in public places across the country to curb the spread of the coronavirus. In a statement late Wednesday, the ministry said smoking would be banned in busy streets, bus stops and public squares when necessary.
It said the nationwide mask mandate in public spaces must be followed at all times. It said smokers were routinely violating the mask rule, which has been in effect for several months.
Source: The Independent, 12 November 2020
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** Parliamentary Activity
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The Government has announced the uprating of tobacco duties to protect the public finances, continue the drive to reduce smoking prevalence, and support the Government’s target for a smoke-free England by 2030. In line with the existing escalator duty rates on all tobacco products will increase by 2% above (RPI) and on hand rolling tobacco by an additional 4% to 6% above (RPI).
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** The changes add 22p to the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes, 65p to a 30g pack of hand-rolling tobacco, 11p to a 10g pack of cigars, 15p to a 30g pack of pipe tobacco and 28p to tobacco for heating packs.
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** The Minimum Excise Tax (MET) on cigarettes and the price at which it applies has been uprated by an additional 2% to 4% above (RPI). The new MET will be £6.42 (previously £6.10) for a pack of 20 and will apply to cigarettes sold at or below £9.23 (previously £8.23).
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** All changes will take effect on 16 November.
Source: Hansard, 12 November 2020
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