Unsmoke Canada launches campaign about dangers of contraband tobacco trade

Unsmoke Canada is launching a new campaign about the dangers of the contraband tobacco trade in the wake of several high-profile cigarette seizures in the country, including one in Nova Scotia.

Unsmoke, which aims to foster discussions about less harmful alternatives to smoking, says the campaign, which will run for four weeks, will highlight the costs of contraband tobacco, including its links to organized crime.

Last month, the RCMP seized 20 cases of illegal cigarettes in Amherst, N.S., and arrested a man from Mississauga, Ont. Police also seized more than one million unstamped cigarettes in Lower Sackville and Cape Breton in March.

Unsmoke noted police seized 2.26 million unstamped cigarettes in Beauce, Que., on May 27, and 7.2 million illegal cigarettes near Swift Current, Sask., earlier this spring.

“An estimated $2.1 billion in federal and provincial tobacco tax revenue is lost each year due to contraband tobacco, adding to the public cost of an illegal market that crosses provincial and international borders and demands coordinated action across governments and law enforcement agencies,” a news release from Unsmoke reads.

Unsmoke says police have linked more than 170 organized criminal groups to the illicit tobacco trade in Canada.

Rick Barnum, executive director of the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco, previously told CTV News Atlantic that criminal groups are setting up networks in eastern Canada.

“There’s been a recognition that contraband tobacco is not a victimless illicit product,” Barnum said. “Sales of legitimate cigarettes are part of (tax revenue) and that money goes back into health care, hospitals, roads, you name it.

“When organized crime siphons out $2 billion a year nationwide, that’s a big problem.”