EU targets cigarette smugglers and organized crime, but who’s winning?

The problem of illicit trade, tobacco smuggling and organized crime enjoys unprecedented attention at the top European level in these days, especially in Brussels, where European governments say they’re going to fight back harder than ever. Why? The illegal trade in tobacco robs EU countries of nearly 10 billion euros ($14.78 billion of potential profits, and the return on investment in smuggling tobacco for the criminal gangs is more than 370 percent. “This problem cost my company 120 million euros ($179.728 million) across the EU last year. But it is in the interest of all European citizens that this illegal activity is tackled because it cost European shopkeepers and small businesses around 700 million euros. This is money that should be going to fund social services and is instead going to criminal gangs,” Michael Kraushaar, Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs for cigarette maker BAT’s western European operation told New Europe.
Twilight or smugglers’ New Moon?
Three leading Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) took the initiative to gather together some of the top officials in law enforcement and politics to discuss the problem of organized crime and put together a new game plan for fighting it. “One of the key factors that enhance the illicit activity of the organized crime groups is the huge return on investments. For instance in the market of counterfeit medicine, one US dollar generates a profit of up to 1000 dollars,” said Carlo van Heuckelom, Head of the EUROPOL Financial and Property Crime Unit during his presentation on the second forum on illicit trade organized by European Parliament on 17 November.
UK Liberal Democrat MEP Bill Newton Dunn, Hungarian S & D Edit Herzog and German EPP member Andreas Schwab said they helped organize the event to raise awareness and educate EU institutions and the public about the impact of illicit trade across society. Herzog emphasized that bringing up the topic of organized crime to the forums was designed to push lawmakers toward becoming more active in the battle.
“I believe there is a growing awareness of the problem at the European Parliament and we hope this continues. A number of senior European politicians have realized how politically and economically serious this problem is and they are working in the EP to educate Members. European citizens need to realize that the trade in smuggled tobacco is not a victimless crime but is in fact a crime that leaves us all worse off,” said Kraushaar.
New attention has been paid, especially in the media, to the problem of tobacco smuggling raised after authorities in Ireland on October this year announced that they had confiscated more than 120 million contraband cigarettes, considered to be the largest single seizure ever made in the EU. Ireland, together with Germany and UK, is the main destination for contraband cigarettes, where profits from illicit sales are greatest. Irish MEP Gay Mitchell told the European Parliament (EP) that 97 percent of illegally trafficked cigarettes are “evading the legitimate tax net to the cost of the European taxpayers.” Mitchell also opened the topic of the health implications from smoking, saying that “The health risks are extraordinary and half of all patients in the largest hospital in Ireland are admitted with smoke-related illnesses. If you check in all European Member States, you will find that the situation is the same,” added Mitchell. Where’s the solution?
EU anti-fraud commissioner Siim Kallas of Estonia, in reaction to appeals from the Parliament for a more active policy on tobacco smuggling and organized crime, acknowledged that it is a “really huge issue, which hurts the budgets in the EU Member States and said the fight against cigarette smuggling is clearly very important priority.” But, he added that, “We can only facilitate and provide intelligence. We have special possibilities to help Member States but to ‘catch the cigarettes’ is a duty of Member States.”
On the other side, as Kraushaar said, industry actors see a lack of the coordination on the EU level. “We appreciate the efforts the EU institutions are making to tackle the illicit tobacco trade. But ideally, we would like to see increased coordination on an EU level and also to see the new Commissioner responsible to take a lead in the fight.” The same point was stressed by the co-organizer of the forum on the illicit trade, Newton Dunn, who told New Europe there is a weakness in cross-border policing in Europe. “Crimes which are committed across open borders can only be effectively countered if law enforcement is given the same facility. The member states of the EU will never be willing to totally share their national police intelligence and resources. So, weakness in cross-border policing in Europe will remain - until a federal police force with cross-border powers is created for the EU,” he said.
A new approach and solution has been offered by EUROPOL office, which sees the priority in preventing the trade in counterfeit goods at its source. “Modern and organized crime is evolving, with business-mid approach and links to many other illegal activities, such as money laundering, illegal employment, illegal immigration, drugs trafficking. The main challenging issue is to stop the trade in counterfeit goods at its source. Internet evolves as a huge source of counterfeit products, therefore this problem needs to be addressed urgently by Law Enforcement,” added Heuckelom.
The possibility of creating a European version of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI,) has been brought up for the discussion. Newton Dunn said sees Europe in the same position today that US states were in 70 years ago. “With open state borders they had to develop a FBI. The EU’s member states will eventually realize that they have to do the same; the longer they drag their feet, the greater the success of the cross-border criminal gangs,” he said.

Police nab Zim cigarette smuggling ring

The police have said they are still on the trail of smugglers suspected to have driven trucks loaded with high quality cigarettes into Botswana from Zimbabwe.
This is contrary to reports that the culprits have been arrested and slapped with a P15,000 fine. The suspects escaped after the police confronted them, abandoning the contraband. The police recovered 133 boxes containing 66,500 cartons of Pacific cigarettes, 108 boxes with 54,000 cartons of Derby cigarettes and 128 boxes containing 64,000 cartons of Sevilles cigarette. The total number of the boxes was 469 with 184,500 cartons. The police assumed that the smugglers were avoiding declaration of the boxes to customs as cigarettes are one of the highly taxed goods. It is said the goods are worth P20 million.
Apparently, buoyed by their success at smashing what could be one of the biggest smuggling rings between Botswana and Zimbabwe, Tshesebe Police Station commander, Superintendent Mojaboswa Mathitha said yesterday that they will intensify their patrols at the border to deter “those who have a propensity to commit such crimes”. The police have detained a 27-year-old man from Serowe who they arrested at Jackalas No 2. The man was apparently driving a truck, which was on its way to help one of the cigarette- loaded trucks that was stuck in the mud.
The other truck drivers managed to escape on foot. The arrested man took the police to the owner of the trucks who is being investigated.
Mathitha said the two men are likely to be charged with abetting smuggling. It is suspected that the cigarettes were to be smuggled into Botswana to be exported to Asian countries such as India and China.

Want to Quit Smoking? Don't Turn to Light Cigarettes

Smokers who switch to a low-tar, light or mild brand of cigarette will not find it easier to quit and in fact may find it harder, researchers reported on Tuesday.
They found that smokers who traded to light cigarettes were 50 percent less likely to kick the habit.
"It may be that smokers think that a lighter brand is better for their health and is therefore an acceptable alternative to giving up completely," Dr. Hilary Tindle of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who led the study, said in a statement.
Her study of 31,000 smokers found that 12,000, or 38 percent, had switched to a lighter brand.A quarter said they switched because of flavor but nearly 20 percent said they had switched for a combination of better flavor, wanting to smoke a less harmful cigarette, and as part of an effort to give up smoking completely, Tindle's team reported in the journal Tobacco Control.
Those who switched brands were 58 percent more likely to have tried to quit smoking between 2002 and 2003 than those who stuck with their brand. But they were 60 percent less likely to actually succeed in quitting, Tindle's team found.
"Forty-three percent of smokers reported a desire to quit smoking as a reason for switching to lighter cigarettes. While these individuals were the most likely to make an attempt, ironically, they were the least likely to quit smoking," Tindle said.
Other research has shown that so-called low-tar cigarettes have just as much tar, nicotine and other compounds as regular cigarettes.

Tobacco ban helps UK, state’s health for future

On a campus constantly rife with disagreement — usually between the UK administration and the students who attend classes here — the 800 pound gorilla on this campus is about ready to be uncaged.
After months of preparation and anticipation, Thursday will be the day UK leaves tobacco behind.
Since the ban went public, smokers have made their frustrations clear as the rules have gradually changed.
In the not so distant past, smoking was a deeply entrenched part of the campus culture. Forget smoking outside — people were allowed to smoke inside within the past decade. Much of the art department calls the Reynolds building, named after tobacco baron R.J. Reynolds from when the building was a tobacco warehouse, home, and many of the lofts near campus boast the same past.
But with the ban, UK is no longer looking to the past, but to the future.
In four or five years, only a relatively small number will remember what it was like to use tobacco on this campus. In that time, this year’s freshman class, the last one to see tobacco use at UK, will be on the way out. The fresh faces that will come after them will never know what they missed.Nor will they care.
UK is responsible for the greater community. As the state’s flagship unversity with so many resources and such a far-reaching influence, it must be a leader in the tobacco-free movement.
The university and the state have obvious deep ties to the controversial crop. Historically, Kentucky has been one of the most important tobacco states in the nation. Even now, the effects of tobacco are visible from UK continuing to benefit from a cigarette tax to many tobacco farmers still making a living from tobacco.
Yet, UK’s responsibility extends beyond providing people a place to smoke and promoting a habit for the sake of economics and history. UK now has to be creative and find ways to ensure the economically viable ways to use tobacco.
While the ban may take away from one aspect of tobacco consumption, UK can be a leader in alternative ways to using the crop, such as textiles, cosmetics and even medicine.
Additionally, UK must show its commitment to the health aspect of the ban. Devoting its resources to help quit tobacco and making those resources more accessible to students, faculty and staff will be necessary.
With any measure of this magnitude, there will be initial backlash. As forward thinking as this historic ban is, it is clear that compliance will not happen overnight — but the objective is a longterm solution that will help cure Kentucky of one of its worst ills.
Yes, the input of students, faculty and staff is something that needs to be crusaded for everyday on this campus. But 20 years down the road, we’ll all look at this decision and realize its benefits.
Sure, there will probably be disregard and backlash in the weeks following the ban. And students exercising a right to protest isn’t something to frown upon.
The implementation hasn’t always been correct, but the solution is.
Going tobacco-free is possibly the best decision UK has made all year.

Contraband cigarettes seized

An Ontario man is facing charges in Manitoba after he was found to be transporting contraband cigarettes.
The man was arrested Monday afternoon when he was stopped by a police officer for an equipment violation on his van, RCMP said.
The officer was patrolling the Trans-Canada Highway near Angle Road in Portage la Prairie at around 1:30 p.m. when he noticed the van was missing the rear bumper and a tie down strap was hanging out the back.
When he approached the van, the officer noticed a large quantity of cigarettes in the rear of the vehicle, RCMP said.
The driver, a 31-year-old man from Ontario who currently lives in British Columbia, was arrested under the Federal Excise Act, and the vehicle was searched.
Police seized 12 cases of contraband cigarettes, each containing 50 cartons, totaling 120,000 cigarettes. The value of the contraband cigarettes is estimated at $24,000.
The driver, whose name has not been released by police, was released on a promise to appear in provincial court on Dec. 10 in Winnipeg.
Charges are pending under the Federal Excise Act and the Provincial Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act, RCMP said. A tax penalty of $66,600 could also be assessed, RCMP added.
The investigation into the matter is continuing.

Tobacco use to stop at hospitals

Hoping to improve local health and limit health-care costs, the New River Valley's hospitals are joining together and joining a growing number of businesses that limit tobacco use.
Representatives of HCA and Carilion announced Wednesday morning that their hospitals, physician practices and outpatient centers throughout the New River Valley would go tobacco-free Jan. 1 for employees and guests.
Those facilities include Carilion New River Valley Medical Center near Radford and HCA's Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg and Pulaski Community Hospital in Pulaski.
Carilion Giles Community Hospital will be tobacco-free when it opens in the spring.
Currently, employees and visitors must go outside the facilities to use tobacco products. Come Jan. 1, tobacco use will be discouraged inside and out.
The heads of three hospitals appeared Wednesday at the New River Valley Mall to discuss the initiative that they hope will save lives and cut down health-care costs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly one in five U.S. deaths each year is a result of tobacco use, according to a media release.
Approximately $150 billion is spent each year in health care for smokers, said Jim Thweatt, interim chief executive officer at Pulaski Community.
And about 25 of all health-care costs are spent treating "modifiable" health risks, he said, including smoking.
"This is the right example to set for our community," said Don Halliwill, president of Carilion NRV, which employees about 1,000.
"People come [to hospitals] to get well," said Scott Hill, CEO of Montgomery Regional, where close to 600 work. "This is a no-brainer."
All three hospital chiefs said lessons were learned over the past two years from a similar joint effort in Roanoke.
In July 2007, the two companies' facilities in the Roanoke Valley went tobacco-free. Halliwill said the important lessons were take your time and communicate why with employees. That's why he said employees were given a year's notice of the decision to give them time to seek smoking-cessation programs.
"This is not a condemnation of individual personal choices," he said. "This is not a political decision."
Instead, he said, it was about giving employees, patients and visitors an "appropriate health-care environment."
Despite the announcement coming two years after the Roanoke Valley went tobacco-free and after General Assembly legislation mandated many restaurants go smoke-free on Dec. 1, Halliwill denies the New River Valley is behind the times.
Nationally, he said, only about 50 percent of hospitals are tobacco-free. By year-end, he said, that will be 70 percent in Virginia.
"We're not behind," he said. "We were just ahead of the curve in Roanoke."

Rise in number of tobacco farmers

At least 17,000 tobacco farmers have registered to grow tobacco with the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board for the 2009/2010 agricultural season.
The number of farmers intending to plant tobacco in the forthcoming season is a marked improvement on the 10,000 registered during the previous agricultural season.
Deadline for registration was last Friday.
The TIMB chief executive officer, Dr Andrew Matibiri, said the high registration of farmers was a result of the mobile registration undertaken by the board.
“Farmers heeded the call to register during the campaign we undertook by conducting mobile registration with farmers around the country,” Matibiri said.
He said the mobile registration had gone a long way in ensuring that prospective farmers got registered on time to enable proper planning of what inputs were needed.
“There will be no further extension of the deadline. The initial deadline for registration was October 31, but this had to be moved to allow interested farmers to come forward.
“We are strict on registering new growers and we will not issue new grower numbers after the due date,” he said
Matibiri said the board spent time in educating farmers about the effects of side marketing their crops and failure to honour agreements with input companies with whom they were under contract.

Statues used to smuggle cigarettes

A CARDIFF woman is facing jail for smuggling cigarettes into Britain hidden under religious statues.
Nicola Stretton, 34, hid the cigarettes in a false compartment of a consignment of Buddha figurines shipped into Southampton from Thailand. Customs officials found hundreds of packs of Marlboro Reds, L&M Lights and L&M filters during a search of the container.
Cardiff Crown Court yesterday heard Stretton was on holiday in Thailand when she noticed that cigarettes were £1 for a pack of 20. She set up a company called Finishing Touches to import religious figures to sell them on eBay and at markets. But the court heard it was a smokescreen to smuggle 857,000 cigarettes into the country.
Office manager Stretton denied failing to pay duty of £144,570 but was found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court. Stretton, originally of Cardiff, but now living in Hereford, was freed on bail but warned she could be jailed when she is sentenced later this month.

Smoking in Pregnancy Tied to Bad Behavior in Kids

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who smoke while pregnant risk having hyperactive preschoolers who can't pay attention, a large study from the UK hints.
Although previous studies have demonstrated significant risks for school-aged boys, this is the first time an association has been shown between smoking during pregnancy and problems for girls and for boys as young as 3, the researchers point out.
Dr. Kate E. Pickett, of the University of York, Hull-York Medical School and colleagues looked for ties between smoking in pregnancy and behavior and attention problems in more than 13,000 3-year-old boys and girls in the UK Millennium Cohort Study.
As part of the study, a wide range of information was gathered including family economic status, education level of parents, ethnicity, parents' marital status, financial difficulties and maternal smoking, drinking or drug use.
Questions were also asked about the children to assess behavior and hyperactivity-inattention problems such as how easily their child was distracted or if their child was prone to temper tantrums, fight with or bully other kids, argue with grownups, steal, lie, and/or cheat.
In all, nearly 10 percent of women reported smoking heavily (+10 cigarettes a day) throughout their pregnancy, 12.5 percent were light smokers (less than 10 cigarettes a day), and 12.4 percent tried to quit, the researchers note in a report published this week in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Even though no ill-effects of even heavy maternal smoking during pregnancy were recorded for most boys (61.6 percent) and girls (71.7 percent), the risk of developing behavior or attention problems increased with maternal prenatal smoking, the researchers found.
They also found that the effect of smoking during pregnancy was different in boys and girls. Boys exposed to cigarette smoke in the womb were more likely to have behavior and attention deficit problems, while girls with this exposure were more likely to experience behavior problems alone.
Girls whose mothers quit smoking during pregnancy had a lower risk of behavior problems than girls whose mothers never smoked leading the researchers to conclude the mother's "the ability to quit" may be a characteristic of "restraint and easy temperament" that the daughters inherit.
Smoking throughout pregnancy carries the highest risk for both boys and girls, according to the data. "Overall, the most important factor seems to be smoking continuously throughout pregnancy, more than amount smoked," Pickett said.
"Persistent heavy smokers had a higher risk of having a boy with conduct problems than light smokers. For conduct problems in girls, any continuous smoking seemed to matter more than amount. Similarly, for hyperactivity-inattention problems both light and heavy smokers had similarly elevated risks compared to non-smokers," Pickett explained.

Learn tobacco curing energy efficiency in Danville

DANVILLE — Manage soaring energy costs related to flue-cured tobacco production.
Local tobacco producers will explore options at the free “Tobacco Curing: Energy Efficiency Conference” sponsored by Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center on Nov. 12.
Attendees will gather information on flue-cured tobacco energy efficiency technologies and practices, wood-fired boiler systems, use of micro-biorefineries for the production of renewable energy and bioproducts and the cap and trade legislation.
Virginia Foundation for Agriculture Innovation and Rural Sustainability provides funding for the conference at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.