Trading Standards seek to 'Stub out' Illicit Tobacco Sales in the City.

Published

16th March 2018

Dundee City Council Trading Standards officers recently swooped on a number of corner shops and confiscated potentially dangerous counterfeit cigarettes.

The operation recovered 4000 cigarettes and over half a kilogramme of hand rolling tobacco.
This action was carried out as part of the council’s battle to rid the streets of illicit cigarettes and tobacco products.
There is no duty paid on the items, some are counterfeit so the quality is unknown. Some sellers are unregistered which means they may also be sold without regard to age restrictions, encouraging children and young people take up the habit.
It is also highly unlikely that illegal cigarettes conform to strict safety standards, including being self-extinguishing and so can pose a fire risk.
The council’s trading standard officers work with Police Scotland to tackle the illegal tobacco trade in the city and operations have used sniffer dogs to track down the fake products.

Councillor Alan Ross, community safety and public protection convener, explained: “This latest haul is another successful outcome in our fight against the availability of illegal tobacco.
“This illicit trade supply chain has been linked to organised crime and criminal gangs who support other criminal activity such as drug dealing, money laundering and people trafficking which is why it is vital that we stamp down heavily on it.
“These products have a low price tag, but the true cost to people and the community is high.”
“We urge everyone to report any suspected sales of potentially dangerous cigarette and tobacco products so we can catch the criminals involved.”

Trading Standards Manager Raymond Lynch, said: “Smoking is key public health issue and we are campaigning to reduce it to protect people from devastating smoking-related illnesses.
“This is why it is so important cheap illegal tobacco which encourages people to start smoking and discourages current smokers from quitting is not available.
“Any information relating to the sale of illicit cigarettes locally should be reported to Trading Standards on 03454 04 05 06. Why not save this number in your mobile phone in case you have other queries about goods and services you have purchased.”

Dundee City Council

Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.

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