Taskforce call to tackle illegal tobacco issue in Wales

Trading standards officers across the country are calling for the establishment of a government taskforce to work to eradicate the issue.

Currently illegal tobacco makes up 15 per cent of all tobacco sales in Wales, the highest level in the UK, with 45 per cent of all smokers in Wales having been offered the chance to buy it.

It is sold at pocket money prices, with a pack of 20 illegal cigarettes costing just £4, making it easily accessible to those who would not otherwise be able to afford it.

Powys County Council's trading standards officers have wrestled with the issue, with 50,000 illegal cigarettes and 50kg of tobaccos seized in the last five years.

ASH Wales has played a major part in raising awareness of the impact of illegal tobacco in Wales and last year was commissioned by the Welsh Government’s Tobacco Control Strategic Board to design a programme to tackle the issue.

ASH Wales CEO, Suzanne Cass, said: “There is an urgent need to establish a dedicated government department to tackle the growing illegal tobacco trade in Wales.

“A co-ordinated approach is also needed between local authorities, the police and Welsh Government to stamp out what is becoming a wider problem. Illegal tobacco is easily available in our most deprived communities where smoking prevalence is highest and plays a big part in perpetuating the stark health inequalities that exist across Wales.

"Not only does illegal tobacco undermine all key tobacco control measures but it is also helps to fund other forms of organised criminal activity in Wales, threatening community cohesion and putting lives in danger.”

In 2014 ASH Wales led the first across Wales research project to assess the scale of the illicit tobacco market in Wales, among its findings, were the fact that 59 per cent of those who purchase illegal tobacco buy it at least once a month and 52 per cent of purchases take place at a private address, while 45 per cent were in a pub or club.

Among those who buy illegal tobacco 70 per cent said it allows them to smoke when they can’t afford it.