Illegal cigarettes
 

Just watching a news story on Look East about this and how to tackle it.

I can solve it.

Every pack of illegal cigarettes they find fine them £1,000, if they cannot pay then close them down and ban them or anybody they are associated with from running a shop/business.

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

What are illegal cigarettes?

ones that leave Revenue and Customs short of a few quid?
and make normal people a few quid better off?

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

careful a lot of the members here are squeaky clean except all those who knowingly drive to fast but that law is ok to break apparently ;)

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

There's a shop by me that sells '50g' Amber Leaf for £7.
the outer packaging should weigh on its own about 6 grams. but whoever made them didn't know that. and the whole lot weighs 50g including the wrapper LOL

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

I am an ex smoker and therefore hate the whole tobacco industry and do think the tax is right in this country on them as really no one should smoke straights they taste horrid they smell horrid as do the smokers and they kill you slowly with no buzz out of them, Horrid things

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

Government don't give a crap about counterfeit or smuggled ciggies. They care little about what's in them and more about how they're losing money. E-cigs and liquid are next in line to be hammered with tax.

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

I know.

On this page there's an Ad "ILLEGAL TOBACCO X DON'T BE TEMPTED"
There's 2 blokes dressed in suits selling each other a pkt of fags he doesn't want because he's probably given up smoking.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/

and it leads you to
http://search2.hmrc.gov.uk/kb5/hmrc/...o&titleindex=2

---------- Post added at 20:15 ---------- Previous post was at 20:07 ----------

A thing to think about with "legal" cigarettes that make the government loads of money in taxes.
how do we know that the tobacco companies don't put something in them that make us highly addicted to them?
addicted enough to have to carry on paying for them at any price?

how do we know that the "illegal" cigarettes don't have this ingredient added to them?

we don't know.
if it were the case we wouldn't be told anyway.

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

"Weapons of Mass destruction"

I'm worried these guys would list that hinting at a possibility they may miss a warhead in a suitcase.

All ciggies are bad. The legal ones are no different to illegal ones they're both filled with crap you're not told about. I praise people that look to alternatives like E-cigs but it's only a matter of time before the government craps all over them. They're massively cheaper overall and healthier by far. The problem being people are choosing them as the cheaper option over health benefits whilst others are using them for the health benefits. Win/Win situation. The cheapos get a cheaper price but they're also subliminally to themselves healthier. What happens when the government steps in and taxes them? They see no difference between electronic and the real thing.

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

As well as missing out on the tax, which is the main driver obviously, you don't know what quality controls counterfeit cigarettes have gone through.........probably none.

Considering the amount of chemicals and toxins in legal cigarettes, imagine what's in fake ones.

It's like fake Vodka, Fake wine, Fake perfumes etc etc.

You're not getting 20 b& h, you're getting something that looks like 20 b& h

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

They can't tax them because it's not tobacco. If they hammer them with tax they've got to hammer the Nicorete patches, gum and spray.

---------- Post added at 07:26 ---------- Previous post was at 07:22 ----------

There's loads of shops round here selling the same, they're knocking out packets of ciggies for £3, hand rolling tobacco for £7. They've been doing it years and haven't been raided.

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

People will always seek out the cheapest option. You can't win in this situation. You knock the tax down on real cigarettes and your seen to be promoting smoking and making them more affordable.

---------- Post added at 07:37 ---------- Previous post was at 07:36 ----------

Pasties aren't tobacco but they found a way to tax them.

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

Good point.

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

I see E-cig's as one of the newer and easily a major way to quit smoking cigarettes. A lot more people succeed transitioning from Cig's to E-cigs to quitting than they do going Cold Turkey or patches. Taxing them would be silly. I think the NHS should even go as far as prescribing starter kits or a disposable one to sample. Less boob jobs and more genuine health benefits please. For the cost of one boob job you could provide 1000 disposable E-cig samples or 500 full products.

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

you quit smoking yet you remain addicted to nicotine

Re: Illegal cigarettes
 

i can solve it get rid of 90% of the tax then there will be no need for a black market .