Category: Illicit Trade

Group Predicts Growth for Holograms in 2023

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Commercial holograms will maintain robust growth in 2023 despite the global challenges, according to the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA), which marks its 30th anniversary this year.
Authentication and track-and-trace systems featuring holograms will continue to help to underpin international efforts by government and law enforcement agencies to bolster overt and covert protection strategies in the next 12 months, said IHMA chair Paul Dunn.
“Counterfeiting is and will remain a massive global threat, continually placing governments, brands and the public at risk—and will continue to be tackled effectively to minimize the impact on society. Despite the economic, social and global supply chain challenges, we expect to see [growth] in 2023 with countries enhancing and bringing forward their anti-counterfeiting plans, which feature holograms,” he said.
“These holograms will become even more integrated with other technologies to create intuitive brand engagement programs while, simultaneously, authentication through scanning a QR code on the label acts as a secondary product verification method. This provides a simple unified platform for brands to interact and engage with their customers.”
Dunn also sees the hologram on labeling continuing to become part of a wider function to track a product throughout its lifecycle and post-life cycle in 2023. This combination of authentication and tracking, he says, will give brand owners complete visibility and control from sourcing raw materials through to recycling.
This year will also see continued growth in high security print applications as, increasingly, holography origination capabilities are brought in-house. This cuts the innovation cycle and enables printers to get their technologies specified for new banknote work.
Sustainability will also be one of the key themes of the next 12 months with manufacturers developing strategies to cut their carbon footprints as part of their corporate responsibility strategies. “The IHMA will be leading efforts through its Sustainability Working Group to encourage best practice by sharing information and showcasing companywide initiatives,” Dunn said.
January 27, 2023
Calls for Crackdown on Illicit Vapes

Photo: niroworld
The Philippine Tobacco Industry (PTI) has called on the Philippines’ Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to crack down on illicit vapor products, reports The Manilla Times.
In a letter sent recently to BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr., the group emphasized that the full implementation of the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act “will ensure that the public is protected against the dangers of using illicit products as well as the collection of appropriate taxes aimed at helping our economy.”
The act, which became law in July 2022, regulates the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use and communication of vaping products such as e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products.
Under the laws implementing rules and regulations (IRR), e-commerce platforms, e-marketplaces and other similar online platforms are mandated to allow only Department of Trade and Industry and BIR-registered distributors, merchants or retailers of vape products, devices and novel tobacco products to sell on their website or platform.
To ensure vape products are made inaccessible to minors, the IRR also requires vapor product refill receptacles to be tamper-resistant and child-resistant. Products packaged or labeled with flavor descriptors appealing to minors are prohibited.
“We are also hoping that the BIR will closely work with enforcement agencies such as the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines as well as relevant anti-illicit trade groups from the Bureau of Customs to make sure the law and its IRR are effectively implemented,” the PTI said.
The PTI members include Japan Tobacco International Philippines, Associated Anglo-American Tobacco Corp. and Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Co.
January 20, 2023
Hong Kong Confiscates $24 Million in Illicit Cigarettes

Photo: Kalyakan
Hong Kong customs officers confiscated HKD190 million ($24.25 million) worth of black market cigarettes in the second-largest smuggling bust in two decades, reports the South China Morning Post.
Hidden in seven cargo containers, the shipment of 69 million cigarettes was destined for Britain and Japan, according to Leung Chun-man, acting assistant superintendent of the customs’ revenue crimes investigation bureau.
One of the containers was packed with L&B and Benson & Hedges cigarettes with U.K. health warnings while another container was filled with Japan Tobacco’s Seven Stars brand cigarettes.
“It is the second-biggest seizure of illegal tobacco products discovered since our records began in 2002,” Leung said. The largest seizure took place in July 2022, when authorities confiscated HKD222 million worth of contraband.
If the contraband had been legally imported, Leung said, it would have generated HKD130 million in tax revenue.
Figures from the Customs and Excise Department show the agency confiscated 732 million black market cigarettes worth HKD1.23 billion last year—the biggest annual haul since records began two decades ago.
As Hong Kong eased its coronavirus restrictions last month, illegal tobacco dealers increased their activities.
In Hong Kong, a pack of 20 cigarettes sells for HKD50 to HKD60 whereas illegal ones can go for HKD15.
January 20, 2023
Counterfeit Tobacco Seized in France

Photo: Europol
French authorities seized more than 100 tons of illegal tobacco-related products worth €17 million ($18.43 million) during a raid on Jan. 12.
According to Europol, the confiscated materials included 19.4 million cigarettes and 15 tons of cut tobacco along with 50 tons of packaging materials, such as paper, filters and labels, as well as 18 tons of waste from the cigarette production process.
Officers also seized vehicles, factory machinery and electronic equipment. The seized tobacco and counterfeit products were destroyed.
During the raid, which involved more than 60 officers from the French National Gendarmerie, police arrested nine suspects, most of them Moldovan nationals. The gendarmes discovered a quasi-industrial setup for the production of counterfeit cigarettes in large quantities. They discovered three separate zones in the targeted factory.
One of the zones was dedicated to the processing of raw tobacco to produce boxes of cigarettes labeled as well-known brands sold on the legal market. Another zone was dedicated to the storage of large boxes of counterfeit cigarettes. The third zone was used as a living area for the workers with some 15 beds, a kitchen and a living room. This allowed the workers to live at the factory, completely cut off from the outside world.
Europol facilitated the information exchange and provided specialized analytical support. On the action day, Europol supported the French authorities by cross-checking operational information against Europol’s databases in real-time and providing leads to investigators in the field.
In 2020, Europol created the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre to increase synergies between economic and financial investigations and to strengthen its ability to support law enforcement authorities in effectively combating major criminal threats.
January 17, 2023
BAT South Africa to Restructure Operations

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
BAT is looking to restructure its South African business following a drop in legal cigarette sales. The process may affect 200 jobs.
The cigarette maker attributed its predicament in part to the five-month cigarette sales ban that South Africa implemented in 2020. Intended to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, the measure was later declared unconstitutional by country’s Supreme Court.
By then, however, the damage had been done, according to BAT.
“The 2020 tobacco sales ban resulted in an explosion of growth for the illicit market. This has continued even after the ban on tobacco sales was lifted,” the company said in a statement.
In 2019, BAT South Africa permanently employed around 1,800 staff across its South African operations. Since 2020, it has been forced to retrench more than 30 percent of its workforce, the company said.
Over the same period, the company’s cigarette sales dropped by around 40 percent as the illicit market accelerated, it said.
Based on independent studies, BAT South Africa estimates that the illicit cigarette trade accounts for up to 70 percent of South Africa’s total cigarette market. This illegal trade has severely impacted the sustainability of the legal tobacco industry and is a source of funds for criminal organizations in South Africa,” BAT wrote.
The company urged for stronger enforcement and new policies to combat the illicit trade.
“While BAT South Africa applauds recent efforts by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and law enforcement agencies to clamp down on the illicit cigarette market, it also calls for even stronger action, given that the current approach has not stopped the growth of illicit cigarettes.
“SARS has issued important new policies, but now it is time to audit manufacturer policy compliance. To support law enforcement agencies and increase their effectiveness, as well as help consumers differentiate between illicit and legal market offers, a minimum retail price policy is required.
“The illicit trade robs South Africa of billions of rands in much-needed tax revenue, and the impact of this is now clearly being seen on legitimate businesses, their operations, and, unfortunately, the livelihoods of those in their value chains. Legitimate businesses cannot operate competitively if the country’s laws are not enforced.”
BAT did not give details of how it would restructure its business or which jobs might be cut.
January 16, 2023
Menthol Ban Failed to Boost Illegal Sales

Photo: Rawf8
Banning menthol cigarettes does not lead more smokers to purchase menthols from illicit sources, according to a new research study published in Tobacco Control.
Researchers at the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Waterloo evaluated the impact of federal and provincial menthol cigarette bans in Canada by surveying smokers of menthol and nonmenthol cigarettes before and after Canada’s menthol ban.
Smokers were asked whether their usual cigarette brand was menthol-flavored and to report their last brand purchased. Those who were still smoking after the menthol ban were also asked where they last purchased their cigarettes.
Results showed that after the ban, there was no significant change in the purchase of cigarettes from First Nations reserves, the main source of illicit cigarettes in Canada.
“The tobacco industry has a long history of claiming that policies to reduce smoking will lead to substantial increases in illicit trade,” said Janet Chung-Hall, a research scientist for ITC and lead author of the new study, in a statement. “We can add the Canadian menthol ban to the long list of effective policies, such as graphic warnings and plain packaging, whose evaluation disproved the scare tactics by industry—showing that illicit trade did not, in fact, increase.”
A 2022 study that combined the ITC project data with data from a comparable Ontario evaluation study showed that the Canadian menthol ban led to an increase of 7.3 percent in quitting among menthol smokers above that of nonmenthol smokers. Projecting this effect to the U.S., whose Food and Drug Administration has proposed its own menthol ban, the ITC researchers estimate that a U.S. menthol ban would lead 1.33 million smokers to quit.
“Our previous research from Canada and the Netherlands showed that a menthol cigarette ban leads to significant reductions in smoking,” said Geoffrey Fong, principal investigator of the ITC project and professor of psychology and public health sciences at Waterloo. “These findings combine to provide powerful evidence in support of FDA’s proposed menthol ban.”
January 12, 2023
Estonia Bans Tobacco Imports from Russia

Photo: rarrarorro
Estonia banned imports of cigars, cigarillos and cigarettes from Russia on Jan. 9 in compliance with EU sanctions relating to the war in Ukraine, reports Interfax.
“On 9 January, the transitional period for sanctions imposed by the European Union on a number of consumer goods originating in the Russian Federation will end, and their import into the European Union will be prohibited from Monday,” the Estonian Tax and Customs Board said in a statement.
“As from 9 January, the transitional period will also end for those sanctioned goods for which supply contracts were concluded before 7 October.”
The import ban covers a broad selection of consumer goods, including cosmetics, washing and cleaning products, clothes and footwear.
The prohibited items must be abandoned by the traveler on the border or risk confiscation, the board said.
January 9, 2023
Drone Used to Smuggle Smokes Into Prison

Credit: Adragan
Three men were arrested in Malaysia for attempting to smuggle tobacco products using a drone into the Machang Prison, according to the New Straits Times.
The trio aged between 35 and 39 were arrested after the Machang district criminal investigation division received a report involving a drone being flown above a compound near the prison at Jalan Kuing Indah, Kampung Pangkal Meleret, at 1:05 a.m.
Kelantan Police Chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun said the prison, which is equipped with tracking device technology, detected the drone near the premises.
The police deployed a team to the location before the three men sped off in a Honda CRV. “A chase ensued between the police and the three men before they were arrested near the main Kuala Krai-Kota Baru road in Kampung Bukit Belah,” Zaki said in a statement, according to media reports.
Zaki said police also found an RC123 drone remote control device, 13 packets of tobacco and 41 small compressed packages believed to contain tobacco.
December 29, 2022
England’s Ports Seeing Boost in Fake Vapes

The number of potentially unsafe disposable vapes being seized at English Channel ports has risen “dramatically,” according to trading standards.
More than 300,000 of the counterfeit products had been seized during December, Kent Trading Standards said, according to the BBC.
“A lot of our work has been focused on retail outlets, but this is now higher up the supply chain,” James Whiddett, spokesperson for KTS, said. “We’re stopping these devices, which may have about 10 times the legal limit of nicotine in them.”
He said the current legal limit on the tank on disposable vapes is 2 mL, which is the equivalent of 600 puffs.
“The products which we’re seeing coming into the country at the moment have 3,500 puffs on them and some have 7,000 puffs, so they are illegal and cannot be supplied to anyone,” he said.
Whiddett said the demand for disposable vapes had risen dramatically over the last nine months.
“The flavors, the fact that people don’t have to put their own liquids in, means it’s convenient and easy,” he said. “We’re not sure where these illegal vapes were going, and our investigations are ongoing.”
Gillian Golden, CEO of the Independent British Vape Trade Association, said noncompliant vape products are also associated with noncompliant sales, “often to underage consumers.”
She said the association would continue to assist trading standards over noncompliant vaping products.
December 27, 2022
Black Market Thrives in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Image: butenkow | Adobe Stock
About 49 percent of citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina buy tobacco products from the black market, according to 2020 research data published by the Center for Policies and Management, a Sarajevo think tank organization that deals with European integration and public administration reform, reports the Sarajevo Times.
The legal sale of cigarettes decreased by 7.6 billion cigarettes per year from 2008 to 2020, though the number of smokers did not significantly decrease. The Liberal Forum, a nongovernmental organization, suggests that that means smokers turned to the black market for cheaper products.
Illegal cigarettes and tobacco are often smuggled into Bosnia and Herzegovina from Montenegro, Serbia and Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina is a transit country on the international smuggling route leading to European Union countries, according to the Indirect Tax Administration.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina prosecutor’s office filed indictments against 13 people this year for illegal tobacco product trade, three of whom were border police members.
December 12, 2022