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Hana Ross - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Illicit cigarette Trade in south africa 2002 2017
Tobacco Control, 2019Co-Authors: Nicole Vellios, Corné Van Walbeek, Hana RossAbstract:Background Increasing cigarette excise taxes is widely recognised as the most effective measure to reduce the demand for cigarettes. The presence of Illicit Trade undermines the effectiveness of tax increases as both a public health and a fiscal measure, because it introduces cheaper alternatives to legal, full-priced cigarettes. Objective To assess trends in the size of the Illicit cigarette market in South Africa from 2002 to 2017 using gap analysis. Methods Tax-paid cigarette sales are compared with consumption estimates from two nationally representative surveys: the All Media and Products Survey and the National Income Dynamics Study. We explore the size of the Illicit cigarette market and its changes over the period 2002–2017. Results Since 2009, Illicit Trade has increased sharply. We estimate that Illicit Trade is between 30% and 35% of the total market in 2017. The acceleration in the growth of the Illicit market since 2015 corresponds with a turbulent time at the South African Revenue Service, when many of the enforcement functions were greatly reduced. Conclusions The current levels of Illicit Trade are extremely high and need to be addressed urgently by implementing effective control mechanisms such as a track and trace system to monitor the production, taxation, and sale of cigarettes.
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Illicit cigarette Trade in South Africa: 2002–2017
Tobacco control, 2019Co-Authors: Nicole Vellios, Corné Van Walbeek, Hana RossAbstract:Background Increasing cigarette excise taxes is widely recognised as the most effective measure to reduce the demand for cigarettes. The presence of Illicit Trade undermines the effectiveness of tax increases as both a public health and a fiscal measure, because it introduces cheaper alternatives to legal, full-priced cigarettes. Objective To assess trends in the size of the Illicit cigarette market in South Africa from 2002 to 2017 using gap analysis. Methods Tax-paid cigarette sales are compared with consumption estimates from two nationally representative surveys: the All Media and Products Survey and the National Income Dynamics Study. We explore the size of the Illicit cigarette market and its changes over the period 2002–2017. Results Since 2009, Illicit Trade has increased sharply. We estimate that Illicit Trade is between 30% and 35% of the total market in 2017. The acceleration in the growth of the Illicit market since 2015 corresponds with a turbulent time at the South African Revenue Service, when many of the enforcement functions were greatly reduced. Conclusions The current levels of Illicit Trade are extremely high and need to be addressed urgently by implementing effective control mechanisms such as a track and trace system to monitor the production, taxation, and sale of cigarettes.
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Controlling Illicit Tobacco Trade : Lessons for Vietnam from Global Experience Implementing Track-and-Trace and Tax Stamp Systems
2019Co-Authors: Sheila Dutta, Patricio V. Marquez, Paul Isenman, Hana RossAbstract:This current analysis presents an overview of this WBG report (including a discussion of tobacco tax administration and strategies proven effective in addressing Illicit Trade as an integral approach to tobacco tax reform), and subsequently provides a more detailed focus on key country experiences in implementing both track-and-trace and tax stamp systems to control tobacco Illicit Trade. The lessons and country experiences shared in this report could have relevance for Vietnam's evolving response to tobacco control, tobacco tax reform, and tobacco Illicit Trade.
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Approaches for controlling Illicit tobacco Trade--nine countries and the European Union.
MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 2015Co-Authors: Hana Ross, Frank J. Chaloupka, Muhammad Jami Husain, Deliana Kostova, Sarah Matthes Edwards, Indu B. AhluwaliaAbstract:An estimated 11.6% of the world cigarette market is Illicit, representing more than 650 billion cigarettes a year and $40.5 billion in lost revenue. Illicit tobacco Trade refers to any practice related to distributing, selling, or buying tobacco products that is prohibited by law, including tax evasion (sale of tobacco products without payment of applicable taxes), counterfeiting, disguising the origin of products, and smuggling. Illicit Trade undermines tobacco prevention and control initiatives by increasing the accessibility and affordability of tobacco products, and reduces government tax revenue streams. The World Health Organization (WHO) Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, signed by 54 countries, provides tools for addressing Illicit Trade through a package of regulatory and governing principles. As of May 2015, only eight countries had ratified or acceded to the Illicit Trade protocol, with an additional 32 needed for it to become international law (i.e., legally binding). Data from multiple international sources were analyzed to evaluate the 10 most commonly used approaches for addressing Illicit Trade and to summarize differences in implementation across select countries and the European Union (EU). Although the WHO Illicit Trade protocol defines shared global standards for addressing Illicit Trade, countries are guided by their own legal and enforcement frameworks, leading to a diversity of approaches employed across countries. Continued adoption of the methods outlined in the WHO Illicit Trade protocol might improve the global capacity to reduce Illicit Trade in tobacco products.
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Assessment of the European Union's Illicit Trade agreements with the four major Transnational Tobacco Companies
Tobacco control, 2015Co-Authors: Luk Joossens, Anna Gilmore, Michal Stoklosa, Hana RossAbstract:To address the Illicit cigarette Trade, the European Union (EU) has signed agreements with the four major Transnational Tobacco Companies (TTCs) that involve establishing extensive systems of cooperation. All agreements foresee two types of payments: annual payments (totalling US$ 1.9 billion over 20 years) and supplementary seizure payments, equivalent to 100% of the evaded taxes in the event of seizures of their products. While limited by the fundamental lack of transparency in this area, our analysis suggests that these agreements have served largely to secure the TTCs’ interests and are threatening progress in tobacco control. The seizure payments are paltry and a wholly inadequate deterrent to TTC involvement in Illicit Trade. Despite the agreements, growing evidence indicates the TTCs remain involved in the Illicit Trade or are at best failing to secure their supply chains as required by the agreements. The intention of the seizure-based payments to deter the tobacco industry from further involvement in the Illicit cigarette Trade has failed because the agreements contain too many loopholes that provide TTCs with both the incentive and opportunity to classify seized cigarettes as counterfeit. In addition, the shifting nature of cigarette smuggling from larger to smaller consignments often results in seizures that are too small to qualify for the payments. Consequently, the seizure payments represent a tiny fraction of the revenue lost from cigarette smuggling, between 2004 and 2012, 0.08% of the estimated losses due to Illicit cigarette Trade in the EU. Our evidence suggests the EU should end these agreements.
Frank J. Chaloupka - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Use of Tobacco Tax Stamps to Prevent and Reduce Illicit Tobacco Trade — United States, 2014
MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 2015Co-Authors: Jamie F. Chriqui, Frank J. Chaloupka, Sarah Matthes Edwards, Hillary Delong, Camille Gourdet, Gabbi PromoffAbstract:Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. Increasing the unit price on tobacco products is the most effective tobacco prevention and control measure. Illicit tobacco Trade (Illicit Trade) undermines high tobacco prices by providing tobacco users with cheaper-priced alternatives. In the United States, Illicit Trade primarily occurs when cigarettes are bought from states, jurisdictions, and federal reservation land with lower or no excise taxes, and sold in jurisdictions with higher taxes. Applying tax stamps to tobacco products, which provides documentation that taxes have been paid, is an important tool to combat Illicit Trade. Comprehensive tax stamping policy, which includes using digital, encrypted ("high-tech") stamps, applying stamps to all tobacco products, and working with tribes on stamping agreements, can further prevent and reduce Illicit Trade. This report describes state laws governing tax stamps on cigarettes, little cigars (cigarette-sized cigars), roll-your-own tobacco (RYOT), and tribal tobacco sales across the United States as of January 1, 2014, and assesses the extent of comprehensive tobacco tax stamping in the United States. Forty-four states (including the District of Columbia [DC]) applied traditional paper ("low-tech") tax stamps to cigarettes, whereas four authorized more effective high-tech stamps. Six states explicitly required stamps on other tobacco products (i.e., tobacco products other than cigarettes), and in approximately one third of states with tribal lands, tribes required tax stamping to address Illicit purchases by nonmembers. No U.S. state had a comprehensive approach to tobacco tax stamping. Enhancing tobacco tax stamping across the country might further prevent and reduce Illicit Trade in the United States.
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Approaches for controlling Illicit tobacco Trade--nine countries and the European Union.
MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 2015Co-Authors: Hana Ross, Frank J. Chaloupka, Muhammad Jami Husain, Deliana Kostova, Sarah Matthes Edwards, Indu B. AhluwaliaAbstract:An estimated 11.6% of the world cigarette market is Illicit, representing more than 650 billion cigarettes a year and $40.5 billion in lost revenue. Illicit tobacco Trade refers to any practice related to distributing, selling, or buying tobacco products that is prohibited by law, including tax evasion (sale of tobacco products without payment of applicable taxes), counterfeiting, disguising the origin of products, and smuggling. Illicit Trade undermines tobacco prevention and control initiatives by increasing the accessibility and affordability of tobacco products, and reduces government tax revenue streams. The World Health Organization (WHO) Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, signed by 54 countries, provides tools for addressing Illicit Trade through a package of regulatory and governing principles. As of May 2015, only eight countries had ratified or acceded to the Illicit Trade protocol, with an additional 32 needed for it to become international law (i.e., legally binding). Data from multiple international sources were analyzed to evaluate the 10 most commonly used approaches for addressing Illicit Trade and to summarize differences in implementation across select countries and the European Union (EU). Although the WHO Illicit Trade protocol defines shared global standards for addressing Illicit Trade, countries are guided by their own legal and enforcement frameworks, leading to a diversity of approaches employed across countries. Continued adoption of the methods outlined in the WHO Illicit Trade protocol might improve the global capacity to reduce Illicit Trade in tobacco products.
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use of tobacco tax stamps to prevent and reduce Illicit tobacco Trade united states 2014
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2015Co-Authors: Jamie F. Chriqui, Frank J. Chaloupka, Sarah Matthes Edwards, Hillary Delong, Camille Gourdet, Gabbi PromoffAbstract:Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. Increasing the unit price on tobacco products is the most effective tobacco prevention and control measure. Illicit tobacco Trade (Illicit Trade) undermines high tobacco prices by providing tobacco users with cheaper-priced alternatives. In the United States, Illicit Trade primarily occurs when cigarettes are bought from states, jurisdictions, and federal reservation land with lower or no excise taxes, and sold in jurisdictions with higher taxes. Applying tax stamps to tobacco products, which provides documentation that taxes have been paid, is an important tool to combat Illicit Trade. Comprehensive tax stamping policy, which includes using digital, encrypted ("high-tech") stamps, applying stamps to all tobacco products, and working with tribes on stamping agreements, can further prevent and reduce Illicit Trade. This report describes state laws governing tax stamps on cigarettes, little cigars (cigarette-sized cigars), roll-your-own tobacco (RYOT), and tribal tobacco sales across the United States as of January 1, 2014, and assesses the extent of comprehensive tobacco tax stamping in the United States. Forty-four states (including the District of Columbia [DC]) applied traditional paper ("low-tech") tax stamps to cigarettes, whereas four authorized more effective high-tech stamps. Six states explicitly required stamps on other tobacco products (i.e., tobacco products other than cigarettes), and in approximately one third of states with tribal lands, tribes required tax stamping to address Illicit purchases by nonmembers. No U.S. state had a comprehensive approach to tobacco tax stamping. Enhancing tobacco tax stamping across the country might further prevent and reduce Illicit Trade in the United States.
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Taxes, prices and Illicit Trade: the need for sound evidence
Tobacco control, 2014Co-Authors: Frank J. ChaloupkaAbstract:Extensive research from around the world has documented the effectiveness of tobacco tax and price increases in reducing tobacco use by promoting cessation among current users, deterring young people from taking up tobacco use, and reducing how much continuing users consume. Internal tobacco company documents show that the industry clearly understands this and that this knowledge informs its pricing, marketing, lobbying and other strategies. The collection of papers in this special issue addresses various aspects of how this plays out in practice and provides options for maximising the effectiveness of tax and price policies for achieving public health goals. Exaggerating the role of tax and price levels and differentials for tobacco products in increasing Illicit Trade is a key element of the tobacco industry's playbook for discouraging governments from adopting higher taxes and, increasingly, for opposing other tobacco control policies, including strong graphic warning labels, plain packaging, bans on flavoured products, and other product standards. Several of the papers in this issue highlight how the industry distorts the data and misleads the public and policy makers on the issue of Illicit tobacco Trade. Rowell et al 1 highlight how the industry has produced estimates of the extent of Illicit Trade in the UK to argue that the problem has increased over time and has been effective in getting this argument into the popular press, thus creating the incorrect impression that Illicit Trade in the UK is high and rising, while objective data show the opposite. Similarly, van Walbeek2 uses revenue data to show that Illicit tobacco Trade in South Africa has not been consistently rising over time, contrary to industry claims that it had increased sharply and steadily since the 1990s, costing the government considerable revenues. …
Gabbi Promoff - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Use of Tobacco Tax Stamps to Prevent and Reduce Illicit Tobacco Trade — United States, 2014
MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 2015Co-Authors: Jamie F. Chriqui, Frank J. Chaloupka, Sarah Matthes Edwards, Hillary Delong, Camille Gourdet, Gabbi PromoffAbstract:Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. Increasing the unit price on tobacco products is the most effective tobacco prevention and control measure. Illicit tobacco Trade (Illicit Trade) undermines high tobacco prices by providing tobacco users with cheaper-priced alternatives. In the United States, Illicit Trade primarily occurs when cigarettes are bought from states, jurisdictions, and federal reservation land with lower or no excise taxes, and sold in jurisdictions with higher taxes. Applying tax stamps to tobacco products, which provides documentation that taxes have been paid, is an important tool to combat Illicit Trade. Comprehensive tax stamping policy, which includes using digital, encrypted ("high-tech") stamps, applying stamps to all tobacco products, and working with tribes on stamping agreements, can further prevent and reduce Illicit Trade. This report describes state laws governing tax stamps on cigarettes, little cigars (cigarette-sized cigars), roll-your-own tobacco (RYOT), and tribal tobacco sales across the United States as of January 1, 2014, and assesses the extent of comprehensive tobacco tax stamping in the United States. Forty-four states (including the District of Columbia [DC]) applied traditional paper ("low-tech") tax stamps to cigarettes, whereas four authorized more effective high-tech stamps. Six states explicitly required stamps on other tobacco products (i.e., tobacco products other than cigarettes), and in approximately one third of states with tribal lands, tribes required tax stamping to address Illicit purchases by nonmembers. No U.S. state had a comprehensive approach to tobacco tax stamping. Enhancing tobacco tax stamping across the country might further prevent and reduce Illicit Trade in the United States.
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use of tobacco tax stamps to prevent and reduce Illicit tobacco Trade united states 2014
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2015Co-Authors: Jamie F. Chriqui, Frank J. Chaloupka, Sarah Matthes Edwards, Hillary Delong, Camille Gourdet, Gabbi PromoffAbstract:Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. Increasing the unit price on tobacco products is the most effective tobacco prevention and control measure. Illicit tobacco Trade (Illicit Trade) undermines high tobacco prices by providing tobacco users with cheaper-priced alternatives. In the United States, Illicit Trade primarily occurs when cigarettes are bought from states, jurisdictions, and federal reservation land with lower or no excise taxes, and sold in jurisdictions with higher taxes. Applying tax stamps to tobacco products, which provides documentation that taxes have been paid, is an important tool to combat Illicit Trade. Comprehensive tax stamping policy, which includes using digital, encrypted ("high-tech") stamps, applying stamps to all tobacco products, and working with tribes on stamping agreements, can further prevent and reduce Illicit Trade. This report describes state laws governing tax stamps on cigarettes, little cigars (cigarette-sized cigars), roll-your-own tobacco (RYOT), and tribal tobacco sales across the United States as of January 1, 2014, and assesses the extent of comprehensive tobacco tax stamping in the United States. Forty-four states (including the District of Columbia [DC]) applied traditional paper ("low-tech") tax stamps to cigarettes, whereas four authorized more effective high-tech stamps. Six states explicitly required stamps on other tobacco products (i.e., tobacco products other than cigarettes), and in approximately one third of states with tribal lands, tribes required tax stamping to address Illicit purchases by nonmembers. No U.S. state had a comprehensive approach to tobacco tax stamping. Enhancing tobacco tax stamping across the country might further prevent and reduce Illicit Trade in the United States.
Nicole Vellios - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Illicit cigarette Trade in South Africa: 2002–2017
Tobacco control, 2019Co-Authors: Nicole Vellios, Corné Van Walbeek, Hana RossAbstract:Background Increasing cigarette excise taxes is widely recognised as the most effective measure to reduce the demand for cigarettes. The presence of Illicit Trade undermines the effectiveness of tax increases as both a public health and a fiscal measure, because it introduces cheaper alternatives to legal, full-priced cigarettes. Objective To assess trends in the size of the Illicit cigarette market in South Africa from 2002 to 2017 using gap analysis. Methods Tax-paid cigarette sales are compared with consumption estimates from two nationally representative surveys: the All Media and Products Survey and the National Income Dynamics Study. We explore the size of the Illicit cigarette market and its changes over the period 2002–2017. Results Since 2009, Illicit Trade has increased sharply. We estimate that Illicit Trade is between 30% and 35% of the total market in 2017. The acceleration in the growth of the Illicit market since 2015 corresponds with a turbulent time at the South African Revenue Service, when many of the enforcement functions were greatly reduced. Conclusions The current levels of Illicit Trade are extremely high and need to be addressed urgently by implementing effective control mechanisms such as a track and trace system to monitor the production, taxation, and sale of cigarettes.
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Illicit cigarette Trade in south africa 2002 2017
Tobacco Control, 2019Co-Authors: Nicole Vellios, Corné Van Walbeek, Hana RossAbstract:Background Increasing cigarette excise taxes is widely recognised as the most effective measure to reduce the demand for cigarettes. The presence of Illicit Trade undermines the effectiveness of tax increases as both a public health and a fiscal measure, because it introduces cheaper alternatives to legal, full-priced cigarettes. Objective To assess trends in the size of the Illicit cigarette market in South Africa from 2002 to 2017 using gap analysis. Methods Tax-paid cigarette sales are compared with consumption estimates from two nationally representative surveys: the All Media and Products Survey and the National Income Dynamics Study. We explore the size of the Illicit cigarette market and its changes over the period 2002–2017. Results Since 2009, Illicit Trade has increased sharply. We estimate that Illicit Trade is between 30% and 35% of the total market in 2017. The acceleration in the growth of the Illicit market since 2015 corresponds with a turbulent time at the South African Revenue Service, when many of the enforcement functions were greatly reduced. Conclusions The current levels of Illicit Trade are extremely high and need to be addressed urgently by implementing effective control mechanisms such as a track and trace system to monitor the production, taxation, and sale of cigarettes.
Kelley Lee - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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'Both Sides of the Argument'? A critical review of existing evidence on the Illicit Trade in tobacco products in Canada.
Tobacco control, 2019Co-Authors: Julia Smith, Sheryl Thompson, Kelley LeeAbstract:Introduction The Illicit Trade in tobacco products (ITTP) is widely recognised as a substantial and complex problem in Canada. However, the independence of available data and quality of analyses remains unknown. Reliable and accurate data on the scale and causes of the problem are needed to inform effective policy responses. Methods We searched the scholarly and grey literature using keywords related to ITTP in Canada. We identified 26 studies published in English since 2008 that present original research drawing on primary data. We analysed these studies for their independence from the tobacco industry, methodology, findings and gaps in knowledge. Results The study finds 42% of the literature reviewed has links to the tobacco industry. These studies provide insufficient methodological detail, present higher estimates of the volume of ITTP and attribute the causes to higher rates of tobacco taxation. The classification of all indigenous tobacco sales as Illicit, by both industry linked and independent studies, contributes to overestimates and serves the interests of transnational tobacco companies. There is need for independent and comprehensive data on the ITTP in Canada over time, across population groups and geographies. Conclusion While there is evidence that the ITTP in Canada is a major and complex issue that requires effective tobacco control policies, there is a limited evidence base on which to develop such responses. This review finds industry-linked studies lack independence, employ biased methodologies and serve tobacco industry interests. Independent studies present more rigorous approaches, but primarily focus on youth and the province of Ontario.
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both sides of the argument a critical review of existing evidence on the Illicit Trade in tobacco products in canada
Tobacco Control, 2019Co-Authors: Julia Smith, Sheryl Thompson, Kelley LeeAbstract:Introduction The Illicit Trade in tobacco products (ITTP) is widely recognised as a substantial and complex problem in Canada. However, the independence of available data and quality of analyses remains unknown. Reliable and accurate data on the scale and causes of the problem are needed to inform effective policy responses. Methods We searched the scholarly and grey literature using keywords related to ITTP in Canada. We identified 26 studies published in English since 2008 that present original research drawing on primary data. We analysed these studies for their independence from the tobacco industry, methodology, findings and gaps in knowledge. Results The study finds 42% of the literature reviewed has links to the tobacco industry. These studies provide insufficient methodological detail, present higher estimates of the volume of ITTP and attribute the causes to higher rates of tobacco taxation. The classification of all indigenous tobacco sales as Illicit, by both industry linked and independent studies, contributes to overestimates and serves the interests of transnational tobacco companies. There is need for independent and comprehensive data on the ITTP in Canada over time, across population groups and geographies. Conclusion While there is evidence that the ITTP in Canada is a major and complex issue that requires effective tobacco control policies, there is a limited evidence base on which to develop such responses. This review finds industry-linked studies lack independence, employ biased methodologies and serve tobacco industry interests. Independent studies present more rigorous approaches, but primarily focus on youth and the province of Ontario.
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From transit hub to major supplier of Illicit cigarettes to Argentina and Brazil: the changing role of domestic production and transnational tobacco companies in Paraguay between 1960 and 2003
Globalization and health, 2018Co-Authors: Roberto Magno Iglesias, Benoît Gomis, Natalia Carrillo Botero, Philip L. Shepherd, Kelley LeeAbstract:Paraguay has reportedly been a major transit hub for Illicit tobacco products since the 1960s, initially to supply markets in Argentina and Brazil and, more recently, other regional markets and beyond. However, to date there has been no systematic analysis, notably independent of the tobacco industry, of this Trade including the roles of domestic production and transnational tobacco companies (TTCs). This article fills that gap by detailing the history of Paraguay's Illicit cigarette Trade to Brazil and Argentina of TTC products and Paraguayan production between 1960 and 2003. The effective control of Illicit cigarette flows, under Article 15 of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the Protocol to Eliminate the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, requires fuller understanding of the changing nature of the Illicit Trade. We systematically searched internal industry documents to understand the activities and strategies of leading TTCs in Paraguay and subregion over time. We also mapped Illicit Trade volume and patterns using US government and UN data on the cigarette Trade involving Paraguay. We then estimated Paraguay's cigarette production from 1989 to 2003 using tobacco leaf flows from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN ComTrade). We identify four phases in the Illicit tobacco Trade involving Paraguay: 1) Paraguay as a transit hub to smuggle BAT and PMI cigarettes from the U.S. into Argentina and Brazil (from the 1960s to the mid-1970s); 2) BAT and PMI competing in north-east Argentina (1989-1994); 3) BAT and PMI competing in southern and southern-east Brazil (mid to late 1990s); and 4) the growth in the Illicit Trade of Paraguayan manufactured cigarettes (from the mid- 1990s onwards). These phases suggest the Illicit Trade was seeded by TTCs, and that the system of supply and demand on lower priced brands they developed in the 1990s created a business opportunity for manufacturing in Paraguay. Brazil's efforts to fight this Trade, with a 150% tax on exports to Latin American countries in 1999, further prompted supply of the Illicit Trade to shift from TTCs to Paraguayan manufacturers. This paper extends evidence of the longstanding complicity of TTCs in the Illicit Trade to this region and the consequent growth of Paraguayan production in the 1990s. Our findings confirm the need to better understand the factors influencing how the Illicit tobacco Trade has changed over time, in specific regional contexts, and amid tobacco industry globalization. In Paraguay, the changing roles of TTC and domestic production have been central to shifting patterns of Illicit supply and distribution since the 1960s. Important questions are raised, in turn, about TTCs efforts to participate as legitimate partners in global efforts to combat the problem, including a leading role in data gathering and analysis.
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British American Tobacco and the “insidious impact of Illicit Trade” in cigarettes across Africa
Tobacco control, 2008Co-Authors: Eric Legresley, Kelley Lee, Monique E Muggli, Preeti Patel, Jeff Collin, Richard D. HurtAbstract:Objectives: To provide an overview of the complicity of British American Tobacco (BAT) in the Illicit Trade of cigarettes across the African continent in terms of rationale, supply routes and scale. Methods: Analysis of internal BAT documents and industry publications. Results: BAT has relied on illegal channels to supply markets across Africa since the 1980s. Available documents suggest smuggling has been an important component of BAT’s market entry strategy in order to gain leverage in negotiating with governments for tax concessions, compete with other transnational tobacco companies, circumvent local import restrictions and unstable political and economic conditions and gain a market presence. BAT worked through distributors and local agents to exploit weak government capacity to gain substantial market share in major countries. Conclusions: Documents demonstrate that the complicity of BAT in cigarette smuggling extends to Africa, which includes many of the poorest countries in the world. This is in direct conflict with offers by the company to contribute to stronger international cooperation to tackle the Illicit tobacco Trade.
