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“
A worldwide report on tobacco smuggling says increasing tobacco tax, combined with stronger enforcement, will deliver the best results in reducing illegal tobacco trade - while also cutting tobacco use and raising billions in government revenue. The
report, by experts from the World Health Organisation and HSBC Finance
published in Applied Economics,*
analysed data from 110 countries and mapped tobacco smuggling
routes. The
report found “A
tax-induced increase in real retail cigarette prices and an
improvement in anti-smuggling law enforcement…. are found to
significantly increase government revenues while decreasing global
consumption and smuggling.” The
Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Australia, Anne
Jones, said: “This new
report should convince the Rudd Government to reject the tobacco
industry’s scare campaign that putting up the price of tobacco will
increase illegal tobacco trade. “This
week we’ve seen the tobacco industry mobilising its allies to oppose
a tax increase. We’ve heard tobacco retailers and tobacco-funded
think tanks threaten that an increase in tobacco price will only
increase black market trade and slash government revenue. “This
phoney scare campaign is happening at the same as the
Canadian government has hit two major tobacco companies with $580
million in fines and civil damages related to ten years of
cross-border smuggling.** “The
global study supports the recommendation to government of the National
Preventative Health Taskforce for a long-overdue tobacco tax increase
to improve health as well as the regulation of tobacco trade. “The
win/win solution supported by all health experts and authorities is to
fund health reform by increasing tobacco tax in next month’s Federal
Budget – and use some of the funds to drive down tobacco use and
improve compliance with laws that prohibit illegal trade.” *
Abstract at www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a901883029 **
See UPI report at www.upi.com/Business_News/2010/04/14/Canada-fines-tobacco-firms-for-smuggling/UPI-54711271252131/
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