Japan Tobacco in Pact on Illegal Smokes

Source from:  BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) December 14 12/17/2007

Japan Tobacco Agrees to Pay $400M to European Nations to Combat Trade in Illegal Cigarettes Japan Tobacco International has agreed to pay European governments $400 million over the next 15 years to combat the sale of illegal and counterfeit cigarettes, the European Commission announced Friday. Siim Kallas, the European Union commissioner responsible for fighting fraud, called the agreement "a major step" in the battle against contraband and counterfeit cigarettes, whose sale cost European governments dearly in unpaid taxes. Japan Tobacco International, the world's third largest international tobacco maker, sells more than 400 billion cigarettes a year. It sells brands including Camel, Winston and Mild Seven in Europe. EU officials say cigarette makers worldwide are often lax in combatting the illegal distribution and sales of their cigarettes. They see the cooperation agreement with Japan Tobacco International as a model for other cigarette companies Under the agreement, Japan Tobacco will be shielded from lawsuits stemming from past cigarette seizures in Europe. Japan Tobacco International also committed to do more to prevent smuggling of "genuine Japan Tobacco cigarettes" in Europe and develop packaging that can be tracked and traced during distribution. Enditem