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August 10th, 2013:

Tobacco lobby’s counterfeit argument – Letters – The Scotsman

http://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/letters/tobacco-lobby-s-counterfeit
-argument-1-3039194

Tobacco lobby’s counterfeit argument

Published on the09  August 2013  19:52

THE Tobacco Retailers -Alliance (TRA) is promoting a disturbing story of
one in ten corner shops at risk of closing due to sales lost to -illegal
tobacco (your report, 8 August).

Yet this dramatic claim quickly falls apart under the briefest
examination.

After a long and loud campaign telling their members that counterfeit
tobacco is damaging local shops, the TRA asked shopkeepers whether they
thought their shop was at risk of closing due to counterfeit and
smuggled tobacco.

We are not told how those involved made sure of an unbiased sample or
whether they just relied on their existing friends and contacts.

Of those who responded, 92 were from Scotland.

So the dramatic “one in ten” headline is based on nine individuals
across Scotland giving their personal opinion.

Why would the TRA make so much of such flimsy evidence, and then use it
to argue against the level of tax on cigarettes?

Why would its spokesperson claim that tobacco smuggling “continues to
worsen” when the figures from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs actually
show the illegal market has been declining for -at least a decade?

Perhaps the answer is that the Tobacco Retailers Alliance is paid for by
British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco, three of
the world’s largest tobacco companies.

Funnily enough, a quick glance at the group’s website makes it perfectly
clear that the TRA’s primary role is to argue against the regulation of
tobacco. If only the tobacco companies felt able to come forward and
argue their own case, rather than hide behind front groups, then we
might at least be able to have a more honest debate.

Sheila Duffy

Chief Executive

Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) Scotland

Frederick Street

Edinburgh