India: Goa''s Flea Market Raided for Illegal Cigarettes

Source from:  health.india.com (in)  01/14/2013

In a raid at the popular Anjuna beach flea market in Goa, Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) officials on Thursday seized hundreds of imported cigarettes being sold without the statutory warnings. An FDA spokesperson said imported brands such as Dunhill, More, Marlboro, Winston, 555, Rothmans, Double Happie, Shooter, Black, Pall Mall, Camel and Richman were being sold at 14 stalls at the weekly market on Anjuna beach, an attraction for thousands of tourists. 'We have warned the stall owners not to sell such cigarettes. It is in violation of the Cotpa Act (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003),' FDA director Salim Veljee said.
 
A recent study found that India is the sixth largest illicit cigarettes market in the world and about 16% of products of the tobacco industry are illegitimate. These cigarettes evade the payment of excise, VAT, customs and other illicit taxes. The study went on to say that the trend is set to continue and illicit cigarette volume will increase to 23% of the total industry by 2016.  The problem is particularly chronic in urban markets and also helps sell foreign brands which aren't available locally without excise duty or other taxes.
 
'The growing share of illegal, contraband cigarettes has been responsible for significant erosion in demand for good quality Indian tobaccos, used by the domestic legal industry. It has been well documented by the WHO as well as the international media that international cigarette MNCs, faced with declining sales in their home markets, are seeking to expand their business in developing countries,' the study says.
 
Contraband cigarettes are smuggled into India from China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Gulf, Southeast Asian countries and even Europe. 'Globally there are documents and reports that confirm the nexus between contraband in cigarettes and criminal, anti-social elements. In India, too, there have been speculations about the contraband cigarettes trade being – among other things – a possible source of funds for organized crime and outfits promoting terror. Clearly, the drive to curb the entry of contraband cigarettes into India needs to be undertaken in a more stringent, sustained and organized manner,' the study found.
 
India.com Health View
 
Illegal cigarettes are a bigger problem than we think. By bypassing regulations, it allows people to buy cigarettes at a much lower cost. Sometimes, it's not tobacco at all but substitutes like dried manure and wooden chips. Also every time you buy an illegal cigarette, know that the chances are that you're most probably helping provide some money to a terrorist organisation or the underworld. Enditem