Big tobacco eyes Myanmar market
As the country opens up to foreign multinationals, tobacco giants are staking a claim. A smoky haze greets customers walking into any of Yangon’s tea shops as patrons light up hand-rolled cigarettes known locally as cheroots. Elsewhere in Myanmar’s main city, vendors sell cheap cigarettes smuggled from China to drivers stopped at traffic lights. The pavement is painted red with the spit of people chewing tobacco wrapped in betel leaves. Tobacco is already a problem in this impoverished Southeast Asian country where anti-tobacco legislation is weak. But as Myanmar opens its doors to the world after half a century of military rule, it faces a new threat: Large multinational cigarette companies looking for new markets. After years of isolation, many young people want to be as “cool” as their Western peers. “I wanted to imitate the people I saw in movies,” said Kyaw Zin Lin, 42, who began smoking at age 12. He got his first packet of cigarettes from his parents’ grocery shop. “It seemed cool then.” Some anti-tobacco activists say it’s not just the nation’s health that is at risk from the tobacco companies’ new push, but also the rights of some of Myanmar’s poorest people. At the heart of the problem lies a conflict of interest within the government. The health ministry is trying to implement measures to curb smoking, but the trade ministry is keen to lure millions of dollars in potential foreign investment by multi-national companies, says Bungon Rithiphakdee, director of the Southeast Asian Tobacco Control Alliance.
Lear MoreIllegal tobacco seized from home of Bodmin market trader
TRADING standards officers swooped on a Bodmin market trader’s home and seized 72 packs of illegal cigarettes and tobacco. They had been tipped off by members of the public who had spotted a number of unusual brands being sold from a stall on Sunday mornings. Unlike the tobacco pictured here, the 72 packs seized from a Bodmin market trader did not comply with UK labelling legislation
Following a brief investigation, a warrant was executed at the trader’s home in St Columb Major, leading to the seizure. None of the tobacco sold complied with UK tobacco labelling legislation. Elizabeth Kirk, senior trading standards officer with Cornwall Council, said: “With its proven links to wider criminal activity and the financial detriment that it causes to legitimate traders, Cornwall Trading Standards is dedicated to tackling the sale of illegal tobacco within Cornwall. “Cheap tobacco sold with no age verification checks in place gives our children cheap, easy access to tobacco products and undermines the quit attempts of existing smokers. Cornwall Trading Standards work in partnership with Smokefree Southwest in order to combat sales across the region.” She urged anyone with information about the sale of illegal tobacco to contact CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111 or report it online at www.stop-illegal-tobacco.co.uk
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Shisha seizure in £60k Coventry tobacco haul
Illegal tobacco worth more than £60,000 has been seized in raids across Coventry. The city council’s trading standards team found more dodgy shisha than ever before when officers went to properties in Hillfields, Cheylesmore and Willenhall. They also discovered packs of hand rolling tobacco and cigarettes in the raids. It is believed that the items are either counterfeit, non-duty paid or not displaying the required health warnings. A total of 1,800 packs of cigarettes, 80 pouches of rolling tobacco and more than 1,000 boxes of shisha tobacco were seized – but so far no-one has been arrested. Investigations into the illegal tobacco haul are ongoing. Nigel Wooltorton, of Coventry’s Trading Standards team, said officers were determined to crackdown on the problem. He said: “The raids have resulted in the greatest single amount of illegal shisha we have seized. “We are determined to take enforcement action when needed to stamp out what can be an extremely profitable business.”
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/shisha-seizure-60k-coventry-tobacco-6316997
Lear MoreNon-duty paid tobacco brands flood market
KARACHI: In the year 2012, 66.5 billion cigarettes consumed in 11 Asian countries were illicit. With 86.3 percent, the domestic illicit cigarette volumes and consumption of illicit cigarettes were highest in Pakistan whereas the Non-Domestic Illicit was 13.7 percent. This scenario resulting in Tax Revenue losses of about more than $250 million in 2012 only. These were the outcomes of the study, ‘Asia-11 Illicit Tobacco Indicator 2012’ conducted by Oxford Economics. Illicit trade manifests itself in three major and interrelated ways-smuggled, counterfeit and local tax evaded products. It is a global phenomenon, covering all continents and high and low income countries alike. Cigarettes, being highly taxed, easy to transport and possessing a lucrative risk to reward ratio are among the world’s most illegally trafficked goods. The study conducted by Oxford Economics, is the first quantitative benchmark for governments in the region to track and understand the problem. The study covered Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and demonstrates that illegal tobacco significantly impacts developed and developing countries alike-occurring in jurisdictions with both high and low tax and price levels, as well as in those with strong reputations for law and order.
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The Growing Threat of Contraband Tobacco
In New York, a handful of federal and state officials are fighting a tough battle against illegal cigarettes.
HOGANSBURG, N.Y. – On the St. Regis Mohawk Indian reservation close to the Canadian border, Another Dam Cigarette Store offers tax-free smokes to hoards of shoppers. One of the most popular brands is Braves, produced by factory not licensed by the federal government, the Times Union reports.
A combination of local, state and federal agencies constitute a small band of law enforcement tasked with stemming the flow of illegal tobacco, but more manpower is needed. “All illicit tobacco business is growing dramatically,” said Thomas Lesnak, a retired ATF senior agent who tracked cigarette smugglers.
Contributing to the problem is that the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has withdrawn from many cases involving tobacco. “New York is a very unique state when it comes to cigarettes,” said ATF agent Steve Dickey. “It’s a high-tax, low-enforcement state with many Native American tribes with various treaties. It’s a politically sensitive, sometimes ticking time bomb.”
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Farmers want seized smuggled rice to be donated to ‘Yolanda’ victims now
The leader of a farmers and irrigators’ coalition Sinag called on the government to donate all the smuggled rice to the Yolanda survivors amid reports that over 200,000 cavans of hot rice have again reached the Davao port. Rosendo So, chair of the Abono partylist and president of the group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), said government should directly donate and distribute the seized “hot” rice to Yolanda survivors instead of auctioning it. “If they auction it, these smugglers might just buy the rice back,” he said in a statement sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “These should be given instead to the survivors of the typhoon,” he added as he urged the government to step up its campaign against the entry of smuggled rice. He said some 200,000 cavans of “hot rice” have reached the Davao port. “This is alarming,” So said. “Smuggled rice continues to enter the country.” He did not provide more details. Earlier, the lawyer of two rice importing companies had questioned the government for the seizure of the companies’ rice shipment when the government could no longer impose import permits after their Quantitative Restriction (QR) under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules already lapsed in June 2012.
Lear MoreIllicit tobacco fight’s weak link
Just off the main drag of the St. Regis Mohawk Indian reservation hugging the Canadian border, a woman greeted visitors at Another Dam Cigarette Store, one of several tax-free smoke shops on the territory.
She smiled at late-July shoppers paying for gasoline that was 21 cents cheaper per gallon compared to prices in nearby Malone, and offered a free T-shirt or tote bag bearing the logo of a cigarette called Braves to anyone buying a carton at the common reservation price of $23 — less than a third of the price of off-reservation national brand names. She pointed to samples, and invited smokers to light up on the spot.
Braves, one of many native-made labels produced on the reservation, are rolled in a blue windowless building near a racing car auto parts shop. It’s not far from the St. Lawrence River and about 100 feet from the Canadian border, with no customs house or border checkpoint to pass. The plant is one of the bigger Mohawk factories that is not federally licensed. It is on the radar of investigators concerned about illegal trafficking of cigarettes off the reservation.
The plant’s operator, and many others tribal entrepreneurs who produce cigarettes by the box or packaged in unmarked baggies known as “rollies,” could eventually be collared by law enforcement. But such outfits can operate unmolested for years while making substantial profits and making low-cost smokes available in cities throughout the Northeast.
They run in a low-risk, high-reward business that federal authorities say costs New York hundreds of millions of dollars a year in uncollected taxes; nationwide, the cost runs into billions.
http://www.timesunion.com/
Media should raise awareness of counterfeit, fake products
ISLAMABAD,Sept 11: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervez Rasheed on Wednesday said media had not played its due role in raising awareness of counterfeit, fake and infringed products. “Media can play pivotal role in raising awareness of the menace of counterfeiting and piracy affecting the rights of consumers and investors,” the minister said, adding that the intellectual property right is key to success of any business. Senator Rasheed was addressing a workshop ‘Role of media in projecting legitimate business practices and curbing piracy’ here on Wednesday. The workshop was organised by Anti Counterfeit and Infringement Forum (ACIF) a group of multinational and local corporates, who have been hit by locally manufactured fake or counterfeited smuggled products. The minister assured that measures should be taken to protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of a person and implementation of Intellectual property laws is crucial for economy, businesses and consumers protection in the country. The minister said that public and private sector should come closer and share their opinion and expertise to devise means required to curb the evils of counterfeiting, piracy and smuggling. “Counterfeiting, piracy, substandard production and smuggling are barriers to innovation and economic progress of a country, causing losses worth billions of rupees to the national exchequer on the account of tax evasion,” he added.
However, neither the minister nor the officials concerned provided any future course of action and roadmap to counter open sale of pirated products in the country.
http://dawn.com/news/1042255/
Billion Dollar Baby: Contraband Tobacco’s Price Tag in Australia
A new report finds that sales of illegal tobacco has come with a high cost to the Australian government.
POTTS POINT, New South Wales – A booming illegal tobacco trade is costing the Australian government billions, according to the first report on illegal tobacco released since the introduction of plain packaging last year. The report, issued this week, shows the problem has worsened with the tobacco black market now booming with illicit cigarettes imported mainly from Asia and the Middle East.
The report was developed by KPMG LLP in the UK, and commissioned by British American Tobacco Australia (BATA), Philip Morris Limited and Imperial Tobacco Australia. It shows that the overall size of the market has grown from 11.8% to 13.3% and more than $1 billion (approximately $946 million in U.S. dollars) a year in excise revenue is being lost. The growth of the illegal market is consistent with evidence from covert purchases.
In BATA’s view, plain packaging, combined with our already high tobacco tax rates, and the previous government’s plan to increase tobacco excise by another 60% over the next four years, could see the illegal tobacco problem skyrocket. “Nearly 70% of every dollar sold from a legal pack of cigarettes goes to the government in taxes, which is why tobacco smuggling is such a lucrative venture for gangs as they obviously don’t pay any tax and pocket the profits instead,” said BATA spokesperson Scott McIntyre in a press release.
Lear MoreTiffany wins $2.2m damages against online counterfeiters
Jewelry company Tiffany & Co has won $2.2m in damages and a permanent injunction against 78 websites selling counterfeit versions of its products. The US District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a final default judgment against the website operators last week, ordering take-downs for a series of sites using domain names such as salestiffany.net, shoptiffanyco.com, tiffanyandcomall.com,tiffanycooutlet.co.uk. “Trademark counterfeiting severely damages brand owners and consumers alike,” commented Michael Kowalski, Tiffany’s chief executive. “The way to stop it is to take aggressive action against the counterfeiters and make them pay, civilly,” he added. “That’s what happened in this case which should send a message to anyone trying to sell counterfeit Tiffany merchandise.” Tiffany filed suit against wholesale club Costco earlier this year for allegedly selling diamond engagement rings that infringed its trademarks. It also filed a suit against eBay in 2004 to try to make the online retailer take infringing products off its website, but failed to secure a judgment in its favour in 2008 after an appeals court ruled it is the manufacturer’s responsibility to monitor goods sold on online auction sites. A bid to bring the case to the US Supreme Court was blocked in 2010.
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