Punjab: Illegal sale of imported cigarettes without health advisory on the rise
Punjab News: Illegal sale of imported cigarettes in Punjab has become common and pose a serious threat to health of smokers who are getting hooked to catchy packs of international brands.
Chandigarh: Illegal sale of imported cigarettes in Punjab has become common and pose a serious threat to health of smokers who are getting hooked to catchy packs of international brands that are without health warnings, anti-tobacco activists said on Thursday.
They say selling illegal cigarettes, an organised crime, is not only evading state’s high taxes but also playing with the lives of smokers, mainly the first-timers, because of inferior manufacturing processes and low quality tobacco with high levels of tar and nicotine.
Trade insiders told IANS that Punjab alone has an annual legal market of 120 million cigarettes and the illegal market accounts for 20 per cent of the total trade. Chandigarh and Panchkula cities have a market of 30 million and six million cigarettes annually and the illegal market also has a share of 15-20 per cent.
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