AACS: More to be done to combat illicit tobacco market

With Australia’s ever increasing laws on tobacco products the country has become a haven for counterfeit tobacco products. There have been increasing busts by customs officials seizing larger amounts of counterfeit tobacco products almost every time. The Australian Retailer’s Association (ARA) has worked on creating a coalition to help crack down on the trade that harms both the honest tobacco vendors and the consumers as well, with imported counterfeit tobacco products containing an unknown myriad of chemicals that would never pass quality standards for regulated tobacco.

Key Takeaways:

• The Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) has welcomed a new report ranking Australian efforts to tackle international illicit trade at the top of Asia Pacific nations.
• Illicit tobacco has a major impact on honest, responsible retailers of legal tobacco products and there is more work to be done in countering this trade according to Jeff Rogut, AACS CEO.
• Recent high profile seizures of contraband tobacco at our shores highlights the enormity of the problem and the fact that, due to the regulatory environment for legal tobacco in Australia, we’ve become one of the most lucrative markets for illicit tobacco in the world.

“The Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) has welcomed a new report ranking Australian efforts to tackle international illicit trade at the top of Asia Pacific nations.”

http://c-store.com.au/2016/10/18/aacs-work-done-combat-illicit-tobacco-market/