Filtrona: Filtering out the Illicit Trade

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 08/02/2012

Filtrona Filter Products is highlighting the ability of cigarette design to help tackle illicit trade. "With consumers affected by recession, the growth of the market for counterfeit and smuggled cigarette products is an increasing area of concern for everyone in the industry," said Filtrona Filters managing director, PT Sreekumar. "However, a number of innovative solutions are now available, such as sophisticated filter designs that are very difficult to replicate, and advanced scientific testing services to verify the authenticity of cigarette products, enabling manufacturers to respond and meet the challenge of illicit trade head on." In a press note, Filtrona Filters said the global trade in contraband and counterfeit tobacco last year amounted to about 572 billion cigarettes, which represented nine per cent of the total cigarette volume. In the EU, illicit cigarette consumption was estimated to have increased by 1.1 billion in 2011 to a total of 65.3 billion cigarettes, the highest figure ever recorded. The company said that it could provide a range of specially designed filters that would be 'very challenging' to counterfeit. For example, the company’s Icon range of filters, which includes the recently-launched Autograph and Insight filters, is said to offer filters with high-impact visual differentiation possibilities Another example was the Combined Performance Superior? filter, which had a distinctive fluted end appearance and could include a colored inner wrap. Filtrona Filters said an additional key concern was that counterfeit cigarette products were not tested and therefore potentially contained harmful levels of compounds. But independent, accredited laboratories, such as Filtrona Scientific Services, offered a wide range of analytical services that could test products to ensure they were not fake. Tests included measuring smoke constituents in counterfeit goods against EU 10-1-10 thresholds. 'Filtrona Scientific Services can also take this one step further and work closely with the customer to better understand the analysis of the tobacco smoke,' the press note said. Enditem