JTI has undertaken another round of test purchasing, with the results demonstrating again that illegal tobacco and vapes are widely available in stores across the UK.
Of the 186 stores visited this spring, just over half of them (96) were found selling a mixture of illegal cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco (RYO), or vapes.
During the operation, counterfeit RYO was bought for as little as £3.50 a pack, less than a tenth the price of the genuine product. Over-filled vapes, typically declaring themselves to have 3,500 puff capacities, were also purchased. The information JTI UK gathers is made available to HMRC and trading standards in anticipation that they take forward enforcement action and prosecutions.
Ian Howell, Fiscal and Regulatory Affairs Manager at JTI, said: “We have always carried out test purchasing for illegal tobacco products, but last year we started adding in vapes. Unfortunately, the illegal sale of tobacco and now vapes seems to be everywhere and it’s very difficult to put the genie back in the bottle. A survey we did last year also showed that almost 40% of smokers admitted to buying non-domestic product in the last month.
“While there are new powers coming into effect later this year that will allow HMRC to issue ‘on-the-spot’ penalties of up to £10,000 against those selling illegal tobacco, it is hugely disappointing that they will not, despite earlier indications, be extended to trading standards where they could have the greatest impact. With the government’s Tackling Tobacco Smuggling strategy being updated at the present time, the extension of these powers to trading standards is something that must be considered.”
