Illegal smokes flooding Atlantic region: RCMP
OTTAWA - RCMP investigations have shown Atlantic Canada is a large market for the cheap, illegal cigarettes flowing out of manufacturing plants on the American side of the Akwesasne reserve that straddles the borders between New York, Ontario and Quebec.
An RCMP report says the Atlantic region has the second largest percentage of consumers of contraband tobacco in Canada.
The head of federal policing for New Brunswick said the underground cigarette trade is thriving in the province - and that police seizures are at an all-time high.
"We're seizing cube vans, U-hauls, portion loads of tractor-trailers, you name it," said Superintendent Rick Noble. "It's like planes, trains and automobiles - we even see people putting it in their luggage."
Most of the contraband originates in central Canada and is simply flowing through the province to elsewhere in the region, said Noble, but a significant portion is sold in New Brunswick.
Organized crime - using the definition of three or more people planning to commit illegal acts - is behind much of the trade simply because it's lucrative, he said. But organized crooks are not the only ones being tempted.
"Some previously law-abiding folks are being caught because they don't see it as illegal," said Noble. "It's just cheaper cigarettes to them."
That's not altogether surprising given how commonplace a product cigarettes have been, said a Canadian Cancer Society official in New Brunswick - but the contraband trade is contributing to the public health problem that smoking is.
Research shows that many smokers - particularly teens - are sensitive to price, and cut back when they can't afford to keep smoking.
"It is not harmless to put cheap product on the market when it is a deadly and addictive product," said Rosemary Boyle.
The Harper government is pledging to crack down on the burgeoning contraband cigarette industry by beefing up policing.
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day unveiled a plan Wednesday aimed at reducing the number of illegal cigarettes that are being seized across the country, which reached a record 618,000 cartons last year.
Day said the RCMP will dedicate more officers to anti-contraband units, although he didn't say how many.
The government will also launch a public awareness campaign to try to convince Canadians to stop buying illegal cigarettes. The ads will warn smokers that their money is being used to fund organized crime groups, Day said.
The tobacco industry welcomed the announcement, but was awaiting details.
A Canadian Cancer Society expert warned any crackdown will fail unless the government attacks the major sources of contraband tobacco.
"It is essential that minister Day insist that the U.S. government shut down the illegal production on the U.S. side of Akwesasne," said society analyst Rob Cunningham.
The factories use cheap loose tobacco from states such as North Carolina to manufacture plain, unmarked cigarettes and divide them into plastic bags of 200, police say.
The "baggies," as they are called, can sell for less than $20 on the street - far less than the legal cigarettes, which range from $65 to $85, depending on the province.
Higher taxes on legal cigarettes have opened up the market for cheaper illegal ones.
New Brunswick charges $23.50 in taxes on a carton of cigarettes, up 121 per cent since 2001, says the RCMP report, taking inflation into account. The federal tax is $17.
- With files from Canadian Press
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