Denbighshire Trading Standards work with North Wales Police and HMRC and regularly make visits to premises suspected of supplying illegal tobacco.
Within the UK there is certain types of tobacco that are being sold illegally, this can take the form of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco. The illegal tobacco trade is often linked to organised criminal activity and a range of other illegal trades.
Illegal tobacco can come in different forms, mainly the following:
Counterfeit
Counterfeit tobacco is usually cheap tobacco made to look like genuine brands. It is usually illegally manufactured and sold without the permission of the trade mark holder. Indications of counterfeit tobacco can include:
- spelling mistakes on packets
- poor quality finish
- foreign health warnings
- may be a funny taste
Another possible indicator that the product is not genuine will usually be the price. For example £3/£4 for a packet of 20 cigarettes would be significantly cheaper than what genuine tobacco products retail at.
Illicit Whites
There is no legal supply of Illicit Whites within the UK. Indications that they are illicit would be by the brand name. The typical brands include:
- Jin Ling
- L & M
- Raquel
- Richman and Bon
These are not recognised brands within the UK, therefore they aren't legitimate products. They smuggle these products in without paying duty.
Bootlegged
This form of illegal tobacco is intended for sale in countries where there is lower tax, it is illegally brought into the UK and illegally sold.
Bootlegged tobacco can include genuine brands. The indications that a product is bootlegged can include:
- foreign health warnings
- no pictoral warnings
- price of the products (same as counterfeit products)
Problems with illegal tobacco
Current controls in relation to tobacco sales are undermined by illegal sellers. The availability of illegal tobacco bears no restrictions therefore it is accessible to children, there will be no taxation paid and sales will not conform to the point of sale display bans.
Further problems include:
- Low price of illicit tobacco increases affordability, encouraging people to smoke more and making it less likely that they will give up smoking, in turn impacting on their health and health needs.
- suppliers target poor and disadvantaged communities
- proven links to organised crime
- illicit sales undermines reputable retailers
Display and price marking of tobacco products
The introduction of the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Display) (Wales) Regulations 2012 require the display of any tobacco products to be covered.
It is illegal to display tobacco products in the relevant shops and businesses, except to people over the age of 18years. None compliance is a criminal offence.
View Welsh Government guidance (external website)
Who do I contact?
If you want to report the sale of illicit tobacco in Denbighshire, please contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506.
Reports can be made anonymously and a referral will be made to officers of the relevant department.