ASH press release
Embargo: 00:01 Friday 27 July 2001
Smuggling keeps the poor smoking; tobaccocompanies keep the smugglers busy
A new study published in the British Medical Journal
Clive Bates, Director of ASH commented:
“Smokingis the major driver of health inequalities in Britain - and a financial burdenon the poor. Over half of thedifference in life expectancy between rich and poor can be explained by thedifference in smoking rates. Quittingsmoking is one of the single best ways to improve the health and welfare of apoor family, but smuggling undermines all the policies aimed at helping poorpeople quit.
“The serviceoffered by smugglers is like the service offered by drug dealers - they mightlook like a friendly source of supply, but they just want your money and don'tcare about your life. Helping peopleto carry on smoking is just about the worst favour you can do them - a bit liketransmitting a disease, and making them pay as well.”
ASH pointed out that tobacco tax revenue was over £7.5billion, but spending on anti-smoking programmes is around £40 million - taxbeing 188 times greater.
“We thinkthe government should be putting more of the tobacco tax back to poor smokersto help them quit. Alan Milburn shouldring-fence at least one penny in the pound and create a special fund forpersuading and helping smokers to quit.”
It is increasingly accepted that tobacco companieshave been orchestrating smuggling for their own commercial and politicalends. Clive Bates said:
“Manylow level sellers of smuggled cigarettes will have no idea that the source wasBalkan, Russian and Italian mafia. Thetobacco companies need to explain why they ship cigarettes that are only soldin Britain by the container load to countries where the only obvious purchasersare organised crime syndicates.
“This isn'tWhite Van Man at work, but a much bigger and nastier criminal enterprise withsome very serious villains at the top and routine violence and intimidation atthe bottom. They are not really friendsof the community, but blood-suckers and predators.
ASH doesn't want the police and Customs to focuseffort on those that buy smuggled cigarettes, but on the wholesale trade thatfeeds the black market. Clive Bates said:
“Wethink it is important to tackle the movements of freight containers fromfactories in Belfast and Nottingham and to stop these reaching Mafiosi. It's better to turn of the tap at sourcethan to try to tackle the flood of cheap cigarettes once they are in the handsof thousands of small time petty crooks.
[1] Wiltshire S. et al “They're doing people a service” -qualitative study of smoking, smuggling and social deprivation. BMJ 2001; 323:203-7
Contact Clive Bates: 020 7739 5902 (office) 0776879 1237 (mobile).
