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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 12:47 am
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Results for counterfeit cigarettes
6 results foundAuthor: Barkans, Meagan Title: Contraband Tobacco on Post-Secondary Campuses in Ontario Summary: In Ontario 27% of young adults smoke, and annual surveillance data suggests tobacco use is plateauing after years of decline. The availability of inexpensive contraband tobacco products maybe contributing to this situation. Limited research has been conducted on the use of contraband tobacco and despite the increasing availability of contraband 'Native cigarettes', no studies to date have examined their use among young adults. Accordingly, this study examines: (a) what proportion of cigarette butts discarded on post-secondary campuses are contraband; and (b) whether the proportion of contraband butts varies between colleges and universities, across seven geographical regions in the province and based on proximity First Nations reserves. In March and April 2009, discarded cigarette butts were collected from the grounds of 25 post-secondary institutions across Ontario. At each school, cigarette butts were collected on a single day from four locations. The collected cigarette butts were reliably sorted into five categories according to their filtertip logos: legal, contraband First Nations Native cigarettes, international and suspected counterfeit cigarettes, unidentifiable and unknown. Contraband use was apparent on all campuses, but varied considerably from school to school. Data suggest that contraband Native cigarettes account for as little as 1 % to as much as 38 % of the total cigarette consumption at a particular school. The highest proportion of contraband was found on campuses in the Northern part of the province. Consumption of Native contraband was generally higher on colleges compared to universities. The presence of contraband tobacco on all campuses suggests that strategies to reduce smoking among young adults must respond to this cohort's use of these products. Details: St. Catharaines, ONT: Brock University, Applied Health Sciences, 2010. 116p. Source: Internet Resource: Master's Essay: Accessed February 13, 2012 at: http://dr.library.brocku.ca/bitstream/handle/10464/3152/Brock_Barkans_Meagan_2010.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2010 Country: Canada URL: http://dr.library.brocku.ca/bitstream/handle/10464/3152/Brock_Barkans_Meagan_2010.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 124119 Keywords: Black MarketColleges and UniversitiesContraband Tobacco (Canada)Counterfeit CigarettesIllegal CigarettesIllegal Tobacco |
Author: Virginia. State Crime Commission Title: Illegal Cigarette Trafficking (SJR 21, 2012) Summary: During the 2012 Regular Session of the Virginia General Assembly, Senate Joint Resolution 21 was enacted, which directed the Crime Commission to study and report on a number of topics involving the subject of illegal cigarette trafficking. The Commission was mandated to determine: why illegal cigarette trafficking occurs, the methods and strategies used by traffickers, the beneficiaries of trafficking, the health implications of non-regulated cigarettes, methods used to counterfeit cigarettes and tax stamps, potential uses of information technology to prevent cigarette trafficking, and statutory options that Virginia could adopt to combat the problem. All cigarette trafficking schemes, regardless of the scope of the operation or the methods employed, depend upon tax avoidance to generate illegal profits. Traffickers exploit differences in tax rates between different jurisdictions or geographic locations, purchasing cigarettes in one area and then illegally transporting them to another area where the tax rates are higher. The difference in the tax rates creates the profit for the trafficker, who is also able to sell his cigarettes at lower than market prices. The lower prices, in turn, provide an incentive for retailers and consumers to purchase these black market cigarettes. Retail merchants who purchase trafficked cigarettes gain an unfair economic advantage over their competitors, due to the lower prices they can offer customers. The customers, in turn, may be unaware that these low-cost cigarettes are black market items, and may simply think they have found a great bargain. Cigarette trafficking can occur at all points along the normal production and distribution channels, with cigarettes being diverted outside normal commercial streams and into the black market. Manufacturers can produce “off the book” cigarettes, failing to pay the taxes on them. Wholesalers can similarly falsify records, under-reporting the quantities of cigarettes purchased and then re-sold. Retailers can sell some or all of their cigarettes “off the books,” thereby avoiding the payment of sales tax. And, individuals can purchase large quantities of cigarettes in one area, at the retail or wholesale level, and then transport them to another area or state, a process sometimes referred to as “smurfing.” When individuals purchase their cigarettes at the wholesale level, sometimes creating fictional retail businesses to do so, they deprive the state of tax revenue. When this occurs, not one, but two states are made the victims of tax evasion—the state where the cigarettes were purchased, and the state where the cigarettes were transported. To achieve lower costs, traffickers can arrange for their cigarettes to be manufactured overseas. Frequently, these cigarettes are counterfeits. The packaging used in popular brands of cigarettes is duplicated; however, the cigarettes inside will differ substantially from the genuine articles. A number of recent studies have reported that the manufacturing facilities used in the production of counterfeit cigarettes have little or no quality control; the counterfeit cigarettes, in turn, have alarmingly high levels of contaminants, including dangerous levels of toxic metals. In short, counterfeit cigarettes present a serious public health risk. The recent increases in state cigarette excise taxes in the north-eastern states have created a situation where Virginia has become a primary source of cigarettes for traffickers in the United States. Virginia currently has the second lowest state tax rates on cigarettes in the country, after Missouri. Meanwhile, New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey have some of the highest cigarette tax rates in the country. In the past two years, a number of studies, some academically published in peer-reviewed journals, have determined that Virginia is currently the largest single source of out-of-state, black market cigarettes in New York City. By some estimates, up to 30% of all cigarettes purchased in New York City are black market; of those, over half may be trafficked from Virginia. The profits that can be generated by exploiting the differences in tax rates between Virginia and the states north of the Commonwealth are staggering. The state excise tax rate for a carton of cigarettes (10 packs) is $3.00 in Virginia; in New Jersey, it is $27.00; in Rhode Island, it is $34.60; and in New York, it is $43.50, while in New York City, it is $58.50. Traffickers can therefore realize a profit of around $100,000 for a smuggling run from Virginia to New York City, transporting in a car or van just 1,500 cartons of cigarettes. In turn, a tractor-trailer filled with cartons of cigarettes represents a potential profit of a few million dollars. These large amounts of money have proven irresistible to organized crime. Law enforcement intelligence reports have indicated that gangs and other organized crime rings have increasingly begun to focus their efforts on cigarette trafficking as a source of revenue. The profit margins on black market cigarettes are now greater than for cocaine, heroin, or illegal firearms. If organized crime continues to view Virginia as an ideal location to obtain cigarettes, their habitual presence may lead, in turn, to increases in attendant crimes—robberies, burglaries, credit card fraud, and money laundering. The tax stamp that Virginia currently uses on cigarette packs has a number of security features, which can assist law enforcement in determining if a particular stamp is genuine or counterfeit. Tax stamps with higher security features, and with digital encoding capabilities, exist. However, there are associated costs with the use of high-tech tax stamps, and most of the information which a digital stamp could provide can currently be obtained with Virginia’s existing stamps, albeit with more effort, such as tracing the serial number on a stamp back to the wholesaler. As almost all data and law enforcement intelligence indicates that Virginia is a source state for trafficked cigarettes, and not a destination state, switching to a digital tax stamp would probably not have a significant impact on Virginia’s tax revenues. However, technology could be used to assist manufacturers, wholesalers, and the Virginia Department of Taxation in expediting the filing of mandatory reports, and in facilitating the payments made by wholesalers for the tax stamps which they affix to packs of cigarettes. Currently, the mandatory reports made by manufacturers and wholesalers to the Virginia Department of Taxation and the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia are generated in paper format, and sent by mail. In a similar manner, the payments made for tax stamps by wholesalers could be submitted to the Virginia Department of Taxation electronically. Details: Richmond: Virginia State Crime Commission, 2013. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Senate Document No. 5: Accessed April 17, 2013 at: http://leg2.state.va.us/dls/h&sdocs.nsf/fc86c2b17a1cf388852570f9006f1299/dba061dea0fa878b852579c8006e00a4/$FILE/SD5.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://leg2.state.va.us/dls/h&sdocs.nsf/fc86c2b17a1cf388852570f9006f1299/dba061dea0fa878b852579c8006e00a4/$FILE/SD5.pdf Shelf Number: 128402 Keywords: Cigarette Smuggling (Virginia)Cigarette TraffickingCounterfeit CigarettesOrganized CrimeTax Evasion |
Author: Power, Gerald Title: Illicit Tobacco in South East London: A Survey of Smokers Summary: The illicit tobacco trade is often seen as a 'Robin Hood' type enterprise with a few locals smuggling cigarettes for their friends so they can enjoy an otherwise expensive luxury. However, if this was ever true, the reality of this trade is now is very different. Criminal gangs are very heavily involved in the illicit tobacco trade and the majority of the illicit cigarettes sold are counterfeits manufactured outside the EU specifically to be smuggled into the UK in bulk. One sea container full of counterfeit cigarettes can generate well over a million pounds in profit for a gang. Also heavy tobacco consumption is now strongly associated with deprivation rather than being a luxury enjoyed by richer communities. This can be seen in all six South East London Boroughs where smoking rates for routine and manual workers within boroughs are consistently much higher than the borough averages. Furthermore, as national and regional levels of smoking and smoking related diseases fall as a result of taxation, education , support in quitting and laws limiting where people can smoke, illicit tobacco has the potential to maintain heath inequalities in communities. In recognition of this Health and Trading Standards Teams have been working together in South East London as part of an initiative to reduce the harm done by illegal tobacco in these communities. This work is aimed at joining up health and trading standards enforcement work to get the best outcomes for communities. In simple terms, if the supply of cheap illicit tobacco in to a community can be stemmed, then the investments in health and education work produce a far better set of outcomes. Limiting the trade also limits the presence of the criminal gangs that manage it. This survey of one thousand seven hundred smokers within the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark was part of that joint work and aims to better understand the illicit tobacco trade and help in finding better ways of dealing with it. Details: London: South East London Illegal Tobacco Cluster, 2013. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 2, 2016 at: https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/ssh-illicit-tobacco-survey-report.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/ssh-illicit-tobacco-survey-report.pdf Shelf Number: 139950 Keywords: Counterfeit CigarettesIllegal TobaccoOrganized CrimeSmuggling CigarettesTobacco Smuggling |
Author: Prieger, James E. Title: Tax Evasion and Illicit Cigarettes in California. Part I - Survey Evidence on Current Behavior Summary: Data from a novel online survey of 5,000 English-speaking adult cigarette smokers in California in advance of a recent increase in the state's cigarette excise tax indicate that slightly more than one-quarter of that population engaged in some legal tax-avoiding behavior in the previous month, while nearly one-fifth illegally evaded taxes. (The two behaviors overlapped substantially.) Candor-inducing indirect questioning via the item count technique substantially increased those figures. Smokers who roll their own cigarettes, e-cigarette users, younger smokers, and those with more income and education are all more likely to engage in at least some of the suspect market behaviors examined. There is a much lower incidence of counterfeit product and sales of single cigarettes. This suggests that the tax increase may lead to significant amounts of adaptive behavior by smokers that will tend to reduce the intended health benefits of that policy change. Details: Los Angeles: BOTEC Analysis, 2018. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 16, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3181586 Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3181586 Shelf Number: 150885 Keywords: Black Markets Cigarettes Counterfeit CigarettesCounterfeit Goods Illicit Cigarettes Illicit Tobacco Shadow Economy Tax Evasion |
Author: Aziani, Alberto Title: Empty Discarded Pack Data and the Prevalence of Illicit Trade in Cigarettes Summary: Illicit trade in tobacco products (ITTP) is big business in the United States and creates many harms including reduced tax revenues; damages to the economic interests of legitimate actors; funding for organized-crime and terrorist groups; negative effects of participation in illicit markets, such as violence and incarceration; and reduced effectiveness of smoking-reduction policies, leading to increased damage to health. To improve data availability for study in this area, we describe and make available a large, novel set of data from empty discarded pack (EDP) studies. In EDP studies, teams of researchers collect all cigarette packs discarded (either in trash receptacles or as litter) in the public spaces of selected neighborhoods. Packs are examined for the absence of local tax stamps, signs of non-authentic packaging or stamps, and other indications of potential tax evasion or counterfeit product. We describe the data and analyze the prevalence of ITTP. Data from 23 collections in 10 U.S. cities from 2010 to 2014 are available, yielding 106,500 observations (by far the largest dataset of its kind available for academic study). Each observation includes dozens of variables covering the brand, location to the ZIP code level, tax status, counterfeit status, and other information about the pack. There is significant evidence of tax avoidance (up to 74% of packs in New York City). In some markets there is also a significant amount of illicit trade (up to over half the market in New York City), which includes bootlegging, counterfeits, cigarettes produced for illicit-market sales, and cigarettes without any tax stamps. These data will be highly useful for research in illicit markets and organized crime. Details: Los Angeles: BOTEC Analysis, 2017. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 16, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2906015 Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2906015 Shelf Number: 150888 Keywords: Cigarettes Counterfeit CigarettesCounterfeit Goods Illicit Cigarettes Illicit Markets Illicit Trade Organized Crime Tax Evasion Tobacco |
Author: KPMG Title: Eurasian Economic Union Illicit Cigarette Report Summary: Key findings: Illicit cigarette consumption has grown rapidly in the Eurasian Economic Union from 2015 to 2018 - Illicit cigarette consumption rose from 0.6% to 6.8% of total consumption in the past 4 years, representing over 20bn cigarettes in 2018 - Had these cigarettes been sold legally in 2018, an additional 68bn RUB would have been collected in taxes (VAT & Excise) across the Eurasian Economic Union in 2018, with 99% of the taxes lost from Russia - A large proportion of the growth occurred in the Russian Federation, where non-domestic cigarette consumption increased from 0.7% to 8.7% of consumption, of which 90% was illicit. Widening price differences between countries and free movement of goods and people are two possible drivers behind the growth in illicit cigarette consumption - The price differences (in particular between Belarus and Russia) have increased by over 40%, making cigarettes from Belarus more affordable(с) - In addition, the establishment of the EEU (in 2015) enabled free movement of goods and people, reducing customs inspections between countries and removing limits on goods imported for personal consumption - The 8 billion Belarusian labelled cigarettes identified in Russia were not supported by the number of travellers buying for their own personal consumption, indicating that a high volume of cigarettes are contraband. Furthermore the seizures of millions of Belarusian labelled cigarettes in Russia indicated that these cigarettes are transported by criminal networks. Distributors of illicit cigarettes have grown to exploit the price differences, reduced affordability and the lack of personal allowance quotas when travelling between EEU countries, especially from Belarus to Russia - Belarus is the primary source of illicit cigarettes, with almost 8 billion of the 20 billion illicit cigarettes identified in this study coming from Belarusian trademark-owned manufacturers, whilst production capacity was reported at 29 billion cigarettes(4) which is not supported by domestic consumption (estimated at 16 billion) - Belarusian labelled cigarettes were identified across Russia, indicating that they are being purchased by consumers who are not travelling across the Belarusian border - In addition, 47% of C&C identified had no identifiable origin including counterfeit, illicit whites and cigarettes with suspicious Russian tax stamps, which have had no taxes paid in any jurisdiction. Some may be illegally manufactured inside Russia - Illicit cigarette smuggling has been shown to help enable Organised Criminal Groups (OCGs), using similar networks to sell other products and its rapid growth in EEU is unlikely to be any different, as profits can be high whilst penalties remain low. Throughout the report, our analysis has focussed on the following categories of cigarette consumption: Legal domestic consumption - Cigarettes legally purchased and consumed within the country of study, based on In Market Sales data provided by the tobacco industry Non-domestic legal (ND(L)) - ND(L) represents cigarettes which are purchased in another country but legally consumed in the country of study, through cross-border or tourism purchases. This represents 0.8% of total consumption in the EEU Illicit consumption - divided into three components: - Illicit Whites: Cigarettes that are usually manufactured in one country/market but which the evidence suggests have been smuggled across borders during their transit to the destination market under review where they have limited or no legal distribution and are sold without payment of tax - Contraband (Other): Cigarettes where the tax was paid legally in one country, but the cigarettes were taken to another country and re-sold without any applicable tax, mainly when the excise tax regimes in the source country are lower than the destination country. Many of these cigarettes originated from an EEU country and whilst they were legally transported (due to no legal personal allowance limits) they were then re-sold illegally - Counterfeit: Cigarettes that deliberately copy a legally traded brand, deceiving consumers who believe that they are purchasing this brand. Counterfeit was only identified by participating trademark owners in the Empty Pack Survey - Russian suspicious tax stamps: Cigarettes where further analysis has revealed that the packs may have been sold without the payment of tax, despite bearing domestic labelling Details: London: Author, 2019. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 28, 2019 at: https://www.stopillegal.com/docs/default-source/external-docs/eea-illicit-cigarette-report-2018-english.pdf?Status=Temp&sfvrsn=ab4677d7_2 Year: 2019 Country: Europe URL: https://www.stopillegal.com/docs/default-source/external-docs/eea-illicit-cigarette-report-2018-english.pdf?Status=Temp&sfvrsn=ab4677d7_2 Shelf Number: 156923 Keywords: AsiaCigarettes ContrabandCounterfeit Cigarettes Counterfeit Goods EuropeIllicit Cigarettes Illicit Markets Illicit Trade Organized Crime Tax Evasion Tobacco |