The TMA welcomes new law enforcement programme in Scotland

Christopher Ogden, Chief Executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA), commented:

“We welcome the Scottish government’s plans to increase enforcement of  the laws on illegal and underage sales of tobacco products. We are confident the proposals to clamp down on the flourishing black market will build on the pro-active work done by TMA’s member companies, through their Memorandum of Understanding [3] with HM Revenue & Customs, in providing Customs with effective tools to detect counterfeit tobacco products [4]. We hope our combined activities will result in further reductions in tobacco smuggling.

“However, serious threats remain. The economic recession is likely to tempt more people to access cheaper smuggled product from unscrupulous black market traders, who do not care who they sell to and who do not ask for proof of age. There is also a danger that the government proposal to ban the display of tobacco products in shops will play into the hands of criminals trying to infiltrate the retail network in Scotland.

“We believe proof-of-age programmes in retail outlets have stopped children accessing cigarettes in the past and will continue to do so. We actively support Scottish retailers in enforcing the minimum legal age of 18 for the sale of tobacco by means of age verification materials like CitizenCard and the Young Scot card and support for the ’No ID, No Sale’  campaign [5]. The public health minister’s announcement on stronger enforcement by Trading Standards officers is welcomed as we believe this is a most effective way to tackle youth smoking.

“We now look forward to working with the Scottish government and law enforcement agencies in our common fight against the scourge of tobacco smuggling.”

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For further information and/or interviews, please contact:

Dirk Vennix, TMA Director of Communications
t: 020 7544 0111
m: 07872376748
e: dvennix@the-tma.org.uk

Notes to the Editor

[1] The TMA is the trade association for tobacco companies that operate in the UK. Our members are British American Tobacco UK Ltd (www.bat.com), Gallaher Ltd (a member of the JTI Group of companies – www.jti.com), and Imperial Tobacco Ltd. (UK). (www.imperial-tobacco.com).

[2] In 2006/7 the UK government estimated that up to 17% of cigarette and up to 59% of handrolling tobacco consumption was smuggled. The revenue lost due to tobacco smuggling could be as much as £3.1 billion.

[3] The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in March 2006 between the TMA’s member companies and HM Revenue & Customs create a comprehensive framework for co-operation aimed at combating the smuggling of both genuine and counterfeit tobacco products into the UK as well as seeking to deter all aspects of the illicit trade in tobacco products.

[4] TMA Press Release ‘Anti-Counterfeit Scheme for UK Tobacco Products’ 26 October 2007

[5]  The TMA strongly agrees with the Scottish government that children should not smoke and should be actively discouraged from doing so.  The TMA is a principal stakeholder in CitizenCard (www.citizencard.com), the UK’s leading proof-of-age scheme [1.9m cards issued] and the No ID, No Sale (NINS) (www.noidnosale.com) campaign operated by CitizenCard which promotes all PASS accredited (Government approved) Proof of Age / ID schemes.