Japan Tobacco International (JTI) conducted a secret investigation in Leeds, revealing the widespread issue of illegal tobacco and vapes in the area, with 43 illegal products found across 18 stores, according to a report by Convenience Store on November 11th.
12 of the 18 stores located in the Labour Chancellor's constituencies of Leeds West and Pudsey. During the operation, staff had no difficulty purchasing prohibited vapes, acquiring a total of 8 products, including one vape that had been used up to 15,000 times—25 times beyond the legal limit.
Authorities also seized 12 packs of illicit Ready-Made-Cigarettes (RMC) and 23 packs of 50g illicit Roll-Your-Own (RYO). The usual price for illegal cigarettes that day was £5, with the highest price reaching £7, while JTI's lowest priced cigarettes have a suggested retail price of £12.75.
It is worth noting that 9 out of the 18 shops were found to have been selling illegal tobacco products last year. Since 2022, JTI has identified 59 retailers in Leeds selling illegal tobacco or vapes and has submitted all evidence to Trading Standards.
"Once more, our undercover operations have exposed the stark reality of the illicit tobacco and vape trade in the UK. The vast availability of illicit products is a crisis on our streets and is increasingly happening in the open," Public affairs manager at jTl UK, lan Howell said.
"The fact that you can easily walk into a store and purchase a vape with a puff count 25 times the legal limit is outrageous and needs to be taken more seriously by the Government. With data showing that illicit tobacco spending in the UK is now twice as large as spending on illegal narcotics1, action must be taken from the top down to stamp out this worrying trend, which is impacting the sales of legitimate retailers and opening the door for criminal activity in our communities.”
Howell also added that the government should focus on the illicit trade rather than the generational smoking ban which he believes will benefit the black market.
"Instead of implementing the impractical generational smoking ban, which will only play straightinto the hands of criminals and exacerbate illicit trade, the Government should focus on removingilicit products from our streets and supporting honest retailers to tackle this growing issue."
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