Berliner Boersenzeitung - JTI RESEARCH: £9.3 BILLION LOST TO ILLEGAL TOBACCO, BUT LOCAL COUNCILS REFUSE TO ACT

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JTI RESEARCH: £9.3 BILLION LOST TO ILLEGAL TOBACCO, BUT LOCAL COUNCILS REFUSE TO ACT
JTI RESEARCH: £9.3 BILLION LOST TO ILLEGAL TOBACCO, BUT LOCAL COUNCILS REFUSE TO ACT

JTI RESEARCH: £9.3 BILLION LOST TO ILLEGAL TOBACCO, BUT LOCAL COUNCILS REFUSE TO ACT

LONDON, Nov. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- New research published today has found that at least 9 local authorities nationwide did not start a single investigation into the sale of illegal or counterfeit tobacco products from 2018 to 2022. The 9 authorities were: Calderdale, East Dunbartonshire, Isle of Anglesey County Council, Rochdale, Havering, Lambeth, City of London, Kingston upon Thames, and York.

Text size:

  • At least 9 councils nationwide conducted 0 investigations and had 0 prosecutions for illegal or counterfeit tobacco from 2018 to 2022.
  • Over this five-year period, Rochdale, Havering, and Kingston upon Thames were amongst the councils refusing to act.
  • Some councils, such as Hull, carried out over 249 investigations in the same time period, resulting in 53 criminal prosecutions.
  • HMRC estimate that since 2018, £9.3 billion in tax revenue1 has been lost due to illegal tobacco to cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.
JTI Logo

Other councils, such as Hull, have taken robust action to tackle the issue, with 249 investigations and 53 prosecutions, more than any other council. Middlesbrough were also relatively active in this area, with 416 investigations, and 15 prosecutions.

Freedom of Information requests sent to 96 councils across England and Wales, show significant variation between the approaches taken by local councils. Councils in London (Kingston), Manchester (Rochdale), Wales (Isle of Anglesey County Council), and Scotland (East Dunbartonshire) were amongst those taking no action.

A lack of action by these councils will undoubtedly lead to increased sales of illegal tobacco, which is often linked to organised crime, a blight on local communities and contributing to the large tobacco tax gap. This gap, as estimated by HMRC, is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. Since 2018, £9.3 billion in tax revenue has been lost in this way. In 2021-22, alone, the tax gap was £2.2 billion.

According to the Police Federation, £2.2 billion could pay for more than 77,000 new police officers.2

Freedom of Information Requests were sent to a sample of 96 councils, asking them for the data below.

Commenting on the data, Sarah Connor, Communications Director at JTI UK, said:

"Some councils' poor enforcement of existing laws raises doubts about their ability and capacity to enforce a more complex generational ban. Illegal tobacco is already a significant issue, and the generational ban has the potential to worsen this, by driving adult smokers to buy cigarettes from organised gangs."

Top performers

Local Authority

 

 

Location

 

 

The number of investigations the Council has initiated into the sale of illegal or counterfeit tobacco products (2018-2022)

The number of successful prosecutions the council has secured regarding the sale of illegal or counterfeit tobacco products (2018-2022)

Middlesbrough Council

Teesside

416

15

Newham

London Borough

256

0

Hull

 

Yorkshire and Humber region

249

53

Newport City Council

Wales

173

7

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

Wales

 

172

18

Stockport

Manchester

172

2

Manchester

Manchester

161

18

Waltham Forest

London Borough

156

6

Doncaster

 

Yorkshire and Humber region

93

27

Bottom of the league

Local Authority

Location

The number of investigations the Council has initiated into the sale of illegal or counterfeit tobacco products (2018-2022)

The number of successful prosecutions the council has secured regarding the sale of illegal or counterfeit tobacco products (2018-2022)

Calderdale

 

Yorkshire and Humber region

0

0

East Dunbartonshire

Scotland

0

0

Isle of Anglesey County Council

Wales

 

0

0

Rochdale

Manchester

0

0

Havering

London Borough

0

0

Lambeth

London Borough

0

0

City of London

London Borough

0

0

Kingston upon Thames

London Borough

 

0

0

York

 

Yorkshire and Humber region

0

0

For further information, please contact:
Sarah Connor
[email protected]

Full source data is available upon request.

1 This figure is the sum of HMRC's tobacco duty gap, which includes cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco, for the last five years. These figures are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps/3-tax-gaps-excise-including-alcohol-tobacco-and-oils#tobacco
2 A newly appointed constable, after 01/09/23 would earn £28,551. (https://www.polfed.org/resources/pay-scales/constable-pay-scales/)

(A.Lehmann--BBZ)