September 27th, 2017:
cigarettes through the post – ‘brazen and sustained attack on the UK taxpayer’
Smuggling gang from Crook, Durham and Washington, posted cigarettes through the post – ‘brazen and sustained attack on the UK taxpayer’ says customs chiefs
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/northdurham/durham/15558793.Illicit_cigarette_smuggling_gang_jailed/
THE ringleaders of a tobacco smuggling gang, who hid illicit cigarettes in lighting units and laptop adapters in an attempt to smuggle them into North-East through the post, have been jailed for a total of 76 months.
Guo Shan Zhang, 34, of Donnini Place, Durham, and his accomplice Shan Jing Su, 31, of The Riggs, Durham, led a nine strong gang in smuggling non-duty paid tobacco products from China, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The pair arranged for parcels containing the hidden cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco to be sent to addresses across the region where they would be collected from their accomplices.
The other members were convicted of conspiracy to evade excise duty:
Keith Peacock, 63, of Crawford Close, Durham, sentenced to 16 months, suspended for 24 months
Kwai Chan, 53, of Wood Vue, Durham, sentenced to 12 months, suspended for 24 months, and 200 hours unpaid work
Harry Marwick, 47, of Ripon Drive, Durham, sentenced to 10 months, suspended for 24 months, 200 hours unpaid work and 20 days rehabilitation
Min Gao, 34, of Boystones Court, Washington, sentenced to 6 months, suspended for 24 months, and 200 hours unpaid work
Trevor Walker, 59, of Elm Gardens, Durham, sentenced to 6 months, suspended for 18 months
Lewis Zalick, 22, of Derwent Avenue, Durham, sentenced to 14 weeks, suspended for 18 months, and 200 hours unpaid work
Joseph Dukes, 50, of Moorland Close, Sunnybrow, Crook, was jailed for 18 months for his involvement in the conspiracy and similar related offences.
All were sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uncovered the fraud after about 500 parcels containing more than 1.8million cigarettes and 100kg of hand rolling tobacco worth an excise duty loss of £472,452 were stopped as they entered the UK.
Denis Kerr, assistant director of the Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, said: “This was a brazen and sustained attack on the UK taxpayer by a highly organised criminal gang. Zhang and Su thought they had come up with a clever way to beat the system – they were very wrong.
“Disrupting criminal trade is at the heart of our strategy to clamp down on the illicit tobacco market, which costs the taxpayer around £2 billion a year.
“We will not allow hardworking, honest retailers to be harmed by criminal gangs selling illegal goods and we are determined to ensure there is a level playing field.”
The packages were often mis-described as green tea, children’s toys and clothes. In some instances large quantities of cigarettes and tobacco were hidden in LED lighting units, which had been sealed shut, and single packets were even hidden inside laptop adaptors.
At an earlier hearing Catherine Dillon Lee, 70, and her husband Robert Lee, 72, of Hall Lane Estate, in Willington, were sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years after earlier pleading guilty to conspiracy to sell and distribute counterfeit cigarettes which posed a risk to public health.
Want to sell tobacco? Get licence: Health ministry
Summary: VoTV state patron said that with licence to tobacco products, vendors will force them to follow the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA). Now all vendors selling tobacco products in Rajasthan will have to take a licence. The licence will also stop the mushrooming of shops selling tobacco products. “In case authorised tobacco vendors are found selling candies, chocolates and biscuits their licence might get cancelled,” said Dr Singhal. At present, tobacco products are sold after setting up temporary shops on the footpath and with licence, such shops will come to an end.
https://www.nyoooz.com/news/jaipur/925994/want-to-sell-tobacco-get-licence-health-ministry/
Now all vendors selling tobacco products in Rajasthan will have to take a licence. Union ministry of health has issued an advisory to all states for the same. The advisory has been issued to the chief secretary of Rajasthan on September 22 through the speed post. Voice of Tobacco Victims (VoTV) campaign state patron Dr Pawan Singhal said that Arun Kumar Jha economic adviser with the ministry has written a letter to chief secretary Ashok Jain of Rajasthan and has suggested that they develop a mechanism to provide permission/authorisation through the municipal authority to retail shops who are selling tobacco products. He said Jha has also put a condition that authorised shops selling tobacco products cannot sell any non-tobacco products such as toffee, candy, chips, biscuits, soft drinks etc, which are essentially meant for children. “In case authorised tobacco vendors are found selling candies, chocolates and biscuits their licence might get cancelled,” said Dr Singhal. He said at present shopkeepers intentionally keep products which lure children and it exposes them to tobacco and some of them tend to start using it , As Reported By Hindustan Times.
According to the Newspaper,The licence will also stop the mushrooming of shops selling tobacco products. A few tobacco manufacturing companies also make biscuits, wafers, chocolates etc and many of the vendors store cigarettes along with such products popular among kids. “This order is a big blow to the marketing tactics of most tobacco companies from targeting children,” he added. VoTV state patron said that with licence to tobacco products, vendors will force them to follow the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA).
Scientist explains how nicotine in just one e-cigarette can cause changes to the heart
Electronic cigarettes have become popular over the last couple of years as devices that help smokers quit smoking. Also called e-cigarettes, vapourisers or simply vapes, the nifty gadgets do not contain tobacco, which is known to release several carcinogenic compounds upon combustion. However, e-cigarettes do contain nicotine, which, several doctors and public health specialists fear is equally detrimental to health.
https://scroll.in/pulse/852074/video-scientist-explains-how-nicotine-in-just-one-e-cigarette-can-cause-changes-to-the-heart
Many such experts wants e-cigarettes banned or strictly regulated because they fear the devices could draw teenagers and non-smokers into smoking.
In fact, a new study from the University of California, Los Angeles has found that nicotine in e-cigarettes can produce significant physiological changes. They showed that healthy non-smokers experienced elevated adrenaline levels after using just one e-cigarette.
The researchers had previously shown that chronic e-cigarette users have increased sympathetic nerve activity, which increases adrenaline directed to the heart and are more susceptible to oxidative stress. These are risks factors for heart attack.
The new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association aimed to find out whether these cardiac risk factors were caused by nicotine or something else associated with e-cigarette use.
Here Dr Holly R Middlekauff, senior study author and professor of cardiology and physiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, explains why even though e-cigarettes may help smokers quit tobacco, they can be harmful if used for prolonged periods of time.