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London (pte041/15.12.2004/12:15) - The number of fake cigarettes coming into Britain is growing. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, the British government has warned in a new campaign that these could contain high levels of hazardous substances. Not only are the counterfeits illegal, they also pose an extra health hazard to smokers who buy them, ministers warn.
The cigarettes are mainly made in Eastern Europe and China by criminal gangs to look like well-known brands. More than a million fakes, which contain high levels of substances like
lead and arsenic, are seized daily in the UK. During the 1990s, the illegal tobacco market grew rapidly, when cigarettes were exported from the UK to avoid tax and then smuggled back in and sold on the black market. Although the government campaign has managed to curb the supply, criminal gangs involved have now changed their tactics and started manufacturing fake cigarettes, which are often sold in pubs. At present, 15 per cent of the UK's cigarette market is made up of smuggled goods.
The aim of the campaign, launched today, Wednesday, is to encourage smokers to boycott the fake goods. According to customs minister John Healey, new research showed buying cigarettes from smuggled sources could now also be "downright dangerous". "Smoking's bad enough but the risk to people's health from these fake cigarettes is even greater," he told the BBC. "These have hugely higher levels of tar, nicotine and some of the cancer-causing chemicals lead and arsenic." According to Healey, 85 per cent of cheap cigarettes sold illegally in London, and more than half of all smuggled cigarettes seized nationally, were counterfeit.
St Andrews University carried out independent research that proved that fake cigarettes sold in the UK contained five times as much cadmium as authentic cigarettes. Cadmium is linked with kidney disease and can severely damage the lungs. Fake cigarettes also carry almost six times as much lead, which can damage the organs and nervous system, particularly in children. Customs also said that high levels of arsenic, which increases the risk of lung, liver and other cancers, were found. Counterfeit cigarettes also contained 160 per cent more tar, 80 per cent more nicotine and 133 per cent more carbon monoxide than genuine cigarettes, according to further research. According to the government, any brand can be faked, and many smokers are unaware of the fact that cheap cigarettes may not be genuine, nor of the added health risk they contain.
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