Home

Illegal tobacco might not seem a big deal – but it is bad news for our community

Kids:  Most of us know someone who has died or become ill from smoking. Nobody wants our kids to get hooked on a lethal cancer-causing addiction which kills up to 2 in 3 lifetime smokers early.

Crime: Criminal gangs bring illegal tobacco into the region in bulk to be sold on – a trade which gets people hooked from childhood on the biggest cause of cancer.

Just like drugs, the illegal tobacco trade results in violence, weapons, child exploitation and people trafficking, with vulnerable people encouraged to sell it on.

If someone is offering cheap tobacco in shops, pubs and clubs, from private houses or on the street, there’s usually a reason. It isn’t duty free or a new brand. It’s smuggled or fake.