COUNTERFEIT cigarettes and illicit booze are being sold around Cheshire, experts have warned.
In a crackdown on black market crime, HM Revenue and Customs are now urging people to be on their guard in the New Year.
With clever packaging, it can often be difficult to spot dodgy goods.
But almost 17 million illegal cigarettes and more than 250,000 litres of alcohol have recently been seized from homes across the North West.
Graham Forbes, HMRC Special Investigations Manager, said: “We’ve active and effective teams of officers operating across the North West to disrupt this illicit trade which has a devastating impact on legitimate retailers.
He spoke of discovering counterfeit cigarettes and drink in pubs and newsagents, and even in the boot of a taxi.
среда, 22 декабря 2010 г.
Two men sentenced in cigarette fraud scheme
Two Glendale men were sentenced on Monday to 366 days in federal prison for their roles in cigarette trafficking scheme. Grigor Chivitchian, 57, and Sarkis Mkrtchyan, 47, were also ordered to pay $280,000 in restitution to the state.
The two men pleaded guilty to federal contraband trafficking and conspiracy charges in September, according to announcement from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The investigation that started in 2007 found that Mkrtchyan and Chivitchian were not authorized to purchase or possess untaxed cigarettes in California.
The two men were also ordered to serve three years of probation.
By avoiding interstate taxes and reporting, smugglers can make millions that go unreported.
Another Glendale man sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison in April for cigarette fraud and tax evasion in 2008.
Between January 2002 and June 2005, Avedis Djeredjian, now 41, bought more than 367,960 cartons of cigarettes from North Carolina without adequate tax stamps from California regulators, depriving California of $3.2 million in tax revenue, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Djeredjian was also ordered to pay back more than $6.4 million. And upon completing his prison sentence, Djeredjian will have three years of parole.
The two men pleaded guilty to federal contraband trafficking and conspiracy charges in September, according to announcement from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The investigation that started in 2007 found that Mkrtchyan and Chivitchian were not authorized to purchase or possess untaxed cigarettes in California.
The two men were also ordered to serve three years of probation.
By avoiding interstate taxes and reporting, smugglers can make millions that go unreported.
Another Glendale man sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison in April for cigarette fraud and tax evasion in 2008.
Between January 2002 and June 2005, Avedis Djeredjian, now 41, bought more than 367,960 cartons of cigarettes from North Carolina without adequate tax stamps from California regulators, depriving California of $3.2 million in tax revenue, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Djeredjian was also ordered to pay back more than $6.4 million. And upon completing his prison sentence, Djeredjian will have three years of parole.
Cigarette Smoke the Main Culprit in Building Warning Signs
The signs are all over Hermosa, hanging in parking garages, office buildings and apartment complexes.
"This area contains chemical substances known to the state of California to cause cancer, reproductive toxicity and birth defects," they read (see accompanying photo).
These notices have been a part of town, and the rest of the state, since 1986 when California voters passed the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act under Proposition 65.
The measure made these signs mandatory in all businesses with 10 or more employees to inform people in the area that they could be exposed to harmful toxins.
An interesting facet of the law is that businesses are required to post a sign stating that chemicals only are present, not detailing which chemicals.
You have to contact the businesses if you want to know the particulars, and that's exactly what Patch did. The answer? Most of the "chemical substances" are cigarette smoke.
Nearly 50 percent of cancers are caused by cigarette smoke, with other environmental toxins accounting for much less of the diseases' rates, according to research.
"It's a major human cancer-causing agent," said Dr. Joseph Landolph, who served on the Proposition 65 advisory board of scientists who have studied these toxins.
An expert in carcinogens and an associate professor at the USC Keck School of Medicine, Landolph has also served on the committee that recommends to the state which substances should be recognized as cancer-causing agents.
"Cigarette smoking is responsible for between 30 to 50 percent of all human cancer" in those exposed to firsthand and secondhand smoke, Landolph told Patch. "Industrial carcinogens cause probably about 5 to 8 percent."
Here in Hermosa Beach, the signs that warn of cancer-causing chemicals are most visible at apartment buildings, such as The Gallery on 2nd Street, an Equity Residential property.
Management had to post the signs because the apartment complex allows smoking on the premises, said Ann Hemmila who serves as a leasing agent for The Gallery.
She was not aware of any other chemicals present that would fall under the signage requirement.
Cori Davis, a resident of The Gallery, told Patch that she hadn't noticed the signs, but she's alarmed by the thought of them.
"I would definitely want to know what substances are here that I need to be aware of," Davis said. "I think they should have to list it if they're going to say that something's toxic."
David Hattrup, a resident of the nearby Playa Pacifica apartment complex on Herondo Street, also managed by Equity Residential, said that he has noticed the signs in his building, but he's not concerned.
"I don't have any reaction to them," Hattrup told Patch. "They're just kind of everywhere as an 'inform-the-public' type thing. Thank you for informing me, but I'm going to keep doing my daily stuff."
But surprisingly, the signage posted in apartment buildings is not meant to notify tenants of the risk of exposure, but rather employees, said Eric Wiegers of the California Apartment Association.
"Apartment buildings are just another…public facility where [the signs] are required by law," he said. "That's a common misconception people have—it's not for residents of an apartment community, it's for employees," such as building managers or maintenance staff.
Regardless of whom the signs are for, Hermosans have a right to know whether toxins that cause cancer and birth defects are present in places of business, Landolph said.
"Should people in the apartment buildings jump out of the window? No, not at all," Landolph said. "They should find out what the sticker is there for, and they have a right to do that."
Once residents educate themselves, they then should focus on reducing their voluntary exposure to cancer causing agents, such as cigarettes, he added.
Viruses, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis A and B, cause about 10 percent of cancers, Landolph said. Vaccines can help in some cases, such as the Gardasil shots that help keep the HPV virus from developing into cervical cancer in women and penile cancer in men.
But in addition to limiting exposure to cigarette smoke and getting the Gardasil vaccine, Landolph recommends that people watch their diet. "Eat green, leafy and yellow vegetables and fruits."
"This area contains chemical substances known to the state of California to cause cancer, reproductive toxicity and birth defects," they read (see accompanying photo).
These notices have been a part of town, and the rest of the state, since 1986 when California voters passed the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act under Proposition 65.
The measure made these signs mandatory in all businesses with 10 or more employees to inform people in the area that they could be exposed to harmful toxins.
An interesting facet of the law is that businesses are required to post a sign stating that chemicals only are present, not detailing which chemicals.
You have to contact the businesses if you want to know the particulars, and that's exactly what Patch did. The answer? Most of the "chemical substances" are cigarette smoke.
Nearly 50 percent of cancers are caused by cigarette smoke, with other environmental toxins accounting for much less of the diseases' rates, according to research.
"It's a major human cancer-causing agent," said Dr. Joseph Landolph, who served on the Proposition 65 advisory board of scientists who have studied these toxins.
An expert in carcinogens and an associate professor at the USC Keck School of Medicine, Landolph has also served on the committee that recommends to the state which substances should be recognized as cancer-causing agents.
"Cigarette smoking is responsible for between 30 to 50 percent of all human cancer" in those exposed to firsthand and secondhand smoke, Landolph told Patch. "Industrial carcinogens cause probably about 5 to 8 percent."
Here in Hermosa Beach, the signs that warn of cancer-causing chemicals are most visible at apartment buildings, such as The Gallery on 2nd Street, an Equity Residential property.
Management had to post the signs because the apartment complex allows smoking on the premises, said Ann Hemmila who serves as a leasing agent for The Gallery.
She was not aware of any other chemicals present that would fall under the signage requirement.
Cori Davis, a resident of The Gallery, told Patch that she hadn't noticed the signs, but she's alarmed by the thought of them.
"I would definitely want to know what substances are here that I need to be aware of," Davis said. "I think they should have to list it if they're going to say that something's toxic."
David Hattrup, a resident of the nearby Playa Pacifica apartment complex on Herondo Street, also managed by Equity Residential, said that he has noticed the signs in his building, but he's not concerned.
"I don't have any reaction to them," Hattrup told Patch. "They're just kind of everywhere as an 'inform-the-public' type thing. Thank you for informing me, but I'm going to keep doing my daily stuff."
But surprisingly, the signage posted in apartment buildings is not meant to notify tenants of the risk of exposure, but rather employees, said Eric Wiegers of the California Apartment Association.
"Apartment buildings are just another…public facility where [the signs] are required by law," he said. "That's a common misconception people have—it's not for residents of an apartment community, it's for employees," such as building managers or maintenance staff.
Regardless of whom the signs are for, Hermosans have a right to know whether toxins that cause cancer and birth defects are present in places of business, Landolph said.
"Should people in the apartment buildings jump out of the window? No, not at all," Landolph said. "They should find out what the sticker is there for, and they have a right to do that."
Once residents educate themselves, they then should focus on reducing their voluntary exposure to cancer causing agents, such as cigarettes, he added.
Viruses, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis A and B, cause about 10 percent of cancers, Landolph said. Vaccines can help in some cases, such as the Gardasil shots that help keep the HPV virus from developing into cervical cancer in women and penile cancer in men.
But in addition to limiting exposure to cigarette smoke and getting the Gardasil vaccine, Landolph recommends that people watch their diet. "Eat green, leafy and yellow vegetables and fruits."
понедельник, 21 июня 2010 г.
Rochester man arrested in tobacco smuggling probe
An investigation into major smuggling of hand-rolling tobacco and money-laundering has led to a fifth arrest.
Investigators from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) searched an address in Rochester, Medway, and arrested a 41-year-old man on Friday.
HMRC criminal investigation assistant director John Kay said it followed four other arrests this month and searches of an industrial unit in Surrey.
Computers, documents and suspected drugs were seized in Rochester.
Mr Kay said investigators had already seized more than three tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco and £400,000 in cash during their investigation.
He added: "One of our key priorities is to identify the abuse of our tax systems by criminal gangs who smuggle illicit tobacco products into the UK for their own profit."
All five people arrested are still being investigated by HMRC.
Investigators from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) searched an address in Rochester, Medway, and arrested a 41-year-old man on Friday.
HMRC criminal investigation assistant director John Kay said it followed four other arrests this month and searches of an industrial unit in Surrey.
Computers, documents and suspected drugs were seized in Rochester.
Mr Kay said investigators had already seized more than three tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco and £400,000 in cash during their investigation.
He added: "One of our key priorities is to identify the abuse of our tax systems by criminal gangs who smuggle illicit tobacco products into the UK for their own profit."
All five people arrested are still being investigated by HMRC.
понедельник, 14 июня 2010 г.
Tobacco in Italy - new market report released
(live-PR.com) - The Tobacco in Italy report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data 2002-2007, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be the new legislative, illustrate how the market is set to change. Product coverage includes: cigarettes, cigars and smoking tobacco Data coverage: market sizes historic and forecasts, company shares and brand shares. Why buy this report? * Get a detailed picture of the tobacco industry; * Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change; * Understand the competitive environment, the market’s major players and leading brands; * Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop.
понедельник, 7 июня 2010 г.
Premium Electronic Cigarette Now Offering New PremiumOne Disposable Electronic Cigarettes
/EINPresswire.com/ VIRGINIA BEACH, VA - PremiumEcigarette.com, a revolutionary smokeless cigarette company, is excited to announce a brand new product to the electronic cigarette market. Along with the variety of e-cigarette kits and styles already available on the website, they are now offering the PremiumOne disposable cigarette that acts as a single piece electronic cigarette.
While many people may prefer to purchase their electronic cigarettes in a kit, providing them with extra batteries, cartridges and chargers, there are many people who are attracted to the PremiumOne disposable electronic cigarette style. These disposable cigarettes are equivalent to twenty-five traditional cigarettes or 360+ puffs. Complete with one battery, one atomizer and one cartridge, this disposable cigarette makes it possible for people to try e-cigarettes at a very low price before making the investment in a smokeless cigarette kit.
This e-cigarette comes in one single piece and is fully charged and ready to use. There is no assembly required, whereas with the other e-cigarettes people will need to recharge the batteries and screw the parts together. This disposable cigarette is available in two colors for customers to choose from including the black with LED as well as the white with yellow LED. The PremiumOne cigarette comes with three different nicotine levels to choose from including high, medium and low as well as tobacco or menthol flavors.
“These electronic cigarettes provide smokers with the freedom to smoke anywhere and it looks, feels and tastes like a real cigarette. We wanted to give our customers the option to try our smokeless cigarettes with the PremiumOne disposable cigarette. Not only do these disposable cigarettes allow people to sample the e-cigarettes at a low price, but they are also convenient for taking to such places as bars and restaurants,” says Premium Electronic Cigarette owner Vitali Servutas (http://www.premiumecigarette.com/).
Electronic cigarettes perform similarly to traditional smoking as it looks, feels and tastes like a cigarette. The difference, though is the e-cigarette is driven by a rechargeable battery and replaceable cartridge that contains water, propylene glycol, nicotine as well as a scent that tastes like the classic cigarette flavor. Depending on the model, there are also many different flavors to choose from for taste variations. This non-flammable technological advancement allows the smoker to inhale, satisfying the craving that traditional smokers seek as well as triggering simulated smoke that is actually a vapor mist that evaporates into the air.
About PremiumEcigarette.com:
Premium Electronic Cigarette, a subsidiary of PremiumEstore LLC, was established in December of 2008 and has since been providing the best brands of smokeless cigars and cigarettes all across the country. Based out of Virginia Beach, VA they offer same-day shipping. The company also has an office located in Europe for international orders.
While many people may prefer to purchase their electronic cigarettes in a kit, providing them with extra batteries, cartridges and chargers, there are many people who are attracted to the PremiumOne disposable electronic cigarette style. These disposable cigarettes are equivalent to twenty-five traditional cigarettes or 360+ puffs. Complete with one battery, one atomizer and one cartridge, this disposable cigarette makes it possible for people to try e-cigarettes at a very low price before making the investment in a smokeless cigarette kit.
This e-cigarette comes in one single piece and is fully charged and ready to use. There is no assembly required, whereas with the other e-cigarettes people will need to recharge the batteries and screw the parts together. This disposable cigarette is available in two colors for customers to choose from including the black with LED as well as the white with yellow LED. The PremiumOne cigarette comes with three different nicotine levels to choose from including high, medium and low as well as tobacco or menthol flavors.
“These electronic cigarettes provide smokers with the freedom to smoke anywhere and it looks, feels and tastes like a real cigarette. We wanted to give our customers the option to try our smokeless cigarettes with the PremiumOne disposable cigarette. Not only do these disposable cigarettes allow people to sample the e-cigarettes at a low price, but they are also convenient for taking to such places as bars and restaurants,” says Premium Electronic Cigarette owner Vitali Servutas (http://www.premiumecigarette.com/).
Electronic cigarettes perform similarly to traditional smoking as it looks, feels and tastes like a cigarette. The difference, though is the e-cigarette is driven by a rechargeable battery and replaceable cartridge that contains water, propylene glycol, nicotine as well as a scent that tastes like the classic cigarette flavor. Depending on the model, there are also many different flavors to choose from for taste variations. This non-flammable technological advancement allows the smoker to inhale, satisfying the craving that traditional smokers seek as well as triggering simulated smoke that is actually a vapor mist that evaporates into the air.
About PremiumEcigarette.com:
Premium Electronic Cigarette, a subsidiary of PremiumEstore LLC, was established in December of 2008 and has since been providing the best brands of smokeless cigars and cigarettes all across the country. Based out of Virginia Beach, VA they offer same-day shipping. The company also has an office located in Europe for international orders.
вторник, 1 июня 2010 г.
Teenagers have no problem getting tobacco
To mark No-Tobacco Day on Monday, Kelsey Chudiak and Megan Sequeira spent their lunch hour eating veggie-filled wraps in a cafe across from Western Canada High School.
"I'd never smoke, it's not healthy," says Kelsey, a 17-year-old aspiring medical student and ringette player. "Western Canada is a sports-oriented school, so I think there are way fewer smokers here than at some other high schools."
Megan, a 16-year-old soccer player, agrees.
"Smoking isn't cool, and hardly anyone we know smokes," she says of her school of 1,200 students. "The percentage of smokers here is very, very small."
To be fair to the athletic duo, they weren't aware it was World No-Tobacco Day. But they do know where I'll find the school's smokers.
"Just go behind the school grounds past the Dumpster," says Megan. "The rest of us don't go there, but that's where they huddle."
Around the back, their fellow students tell a different story.
"Just about everyone at this school smokes," claims Sally, an 18-year-old Western Canada High student who'll talk only if I don't use her last name.
"Just look at all of them," she says as she points to scores of students heading back to the school from behind the huge trash bin.
Though the estimates of smoking rates differ wildly between the smokers and non-smokers at this popular inner-city high school, all agree on one thing: if you do want to light up, being under 18 is no detriment.
"I just turned 18, and I've been smoking for years," says Sally as a group of nearby boys puffs away. "You can always find someone willing to sell to you -- I always pick the convenience stores where the cashier is close to my age."
According to a newly released Health Canada report, it's easier than ever for teens to purchase cigarettes -- especially if you live in Alberta. Tobacco sales to minors have increased for the past three consecutive years, with 17 per cent of retailers willing to sell to underage test shoppers in 2009, nearly double the 2006 figure. When it comes to selling to those just shy of 18, Alberta is second in the country only to Nova Scotia.
Such findings hardly surprise Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, Western Canada's leading tobacco control organization.
"Considering we have no provincial regulation," says Hagen, who notes that every other province in the country has its own rules, and enforcement, on retail sales of tobacco, "we're in fact inviting the problem."
According to Hagen, Alberta has shirked its responsibility in this area.
"We rely entirely on the federal government for this," he says. "When does Alberta rely entirely on the federal government for anything?"
Hagen says it's a simple matter of tweaking the province's Tobacco Reduction Act, which came into force in 2008, and that bans the sale of tobacco products from all health-care facilities, post-secondary campuses and pharmacies. He'd like to see provincial rules, and enforcement, of tobacco sales at the retail level, and a crackdown on the growing number of violators.
Even with tighter enforcement, say kids like 15-year-old Jortinder Robinson, for the 16 per cent of Alberta teens smoke like him, where there's a will, there's a way.
"You can always find the ones who don't ID," he says as he and friend Joey Kraft share a cigarette on a park bench right in front of the school. "And if that doesn't work, you can get an 18-year-old to buy it for you."
Just for the record, I didn't check the boys for ID, and thus will have to trust them that those are their real names.
But if a tightening of access to cigarettes and the health warnings that come from this dangerous habit don't scare off the likes of Jortinder and Joey right now, hopefully the verdict from the healthier among them might, in time, prompt them to butt out for good.
"I would never date a smoker," says Kelsey. "I hate the smell, and I don't like guys who don't care about their health."
"I'd never smoke, it's not healthy," says Kelsey, a 17-year-old aspiring medical student and ringette player. "Western Canada is a sports-oriented school, so I think there are way fewer smokers here than at some other high schools."
Megan, a 16-year-old soccer player, agrees.
"Smoking isn't cool, and hardly anyone we know smokes," she says of her school of 1,200 students. "The percentage of smokers here is very, very small."
To be fair to the athletic duo, they weren't aware it was World No-Tobacco Day. But they do know where I'll find the school's smokers.
"Just go behind the school grounds past the Dumpster," says Megan. "The rest of us don't go there, but that's where they huddle."
Around the back, their fellow students tell a different story.
"Just about everyone at this school smokes," claims Sally, an 18-year-old Western Canada High student who'll talk only if I don't use her last name.
"Just look at all of them," she says as she points to scores of students heading back to the school from behind the huge trash bin.
Though the estimates of smoking rates differ wildly between the smokers and non-smokers at this popular inner-city high school, all agree on one thing: if you do want to light up, being under 18 is no detriment.
"I just turned 18, and I've been smoking for years," says Sally as a group of nearby boys puffs away. "You can always find someone willing to sell to you -- I always pick the convenience stores where the cashier is close to my age."
According to a newly released Health Canada report, it's easier than ever for teens to purchase cigarettes -- especially if you live in Alberta. Tobacco sales to minors have increased for the past three consecutive years, with 17 per cent of retailers willing to sell to underage test shoppers in 2009, nearly double the 2006 figure. When it comes to selling to those just shy of 18, Alberta is second in the country only to Nova Scotia.
Such findings hardly surprise Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, Western Canada's leading tobacco control organization.
"Considering we have no provincial regulation," says Hagen, who notes that every other province in the country has its own rules, and enforcement, on retail sales of tobacco, "we're in fact inviting the problem."
According to Hagen, Alberta has shirked its responsibility in this area.
"We rely entirely on the federal government for this," he says. "When does Alberta rely entirely on the federal government for anything?"
Hagen says it's a simple matter of tweaking the province's Tobacco Reduction Act, which came into force in 2008, and that bans the sale of tobacco products from all health-care facilities, post-secondary campuses and pharmacies. He'd like to see provincial rules, and enforcement, of tobacco sales at the retail level, and a crackdown on the growing number of violators.
Even with tighter enforcement, say kids like 15-year-old Jortinder Robinson, for the 16 per cent of Alberta teens smoke like him, where there's a will, there's a way.
"You can always find the ones who don't ID," he says as he and friend Joey Kraft share a cigarette on a park bench right in front of the school. "And if that doesn't work, you can get an 18-year-old to buy it for you."
Just for the record, I didn't check the boys for ID, and thus will have to trust them that those are their real names.
But if a tightening of access to cigarettes and the health warnings that come from this dangerous habit don't scare off the likes of Jortinder and Joey right now, hopefully the verdict from the healthier among them might, in time, prompt them to butt out for good.
"I would never date a smoker," says Kelsey. "I hate the smell, and I don't like guys who don't care about their health."
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