Lansley out of his mind over ‘blank cheque’ for criminals

Retailers fear unscrupulous gangs will undermine all the government hopes to achieve with a display ban and plain packaging, says Ronan Hegarty


This week, a BBC Panorama programme - Smoking and the Bandits - shone a light on the depth of organisation and criminality behind the illicit trade in tobacco, and suggested that the roaring trade represented a “ticking timebomb” as illegal contraband contained as much as 30 times the level of lead in legitimate cigarettes.

It seems health secretary Andrew Lansley either wasn’t watching or wasn’t listening because on Wednesday National Smoking Day he delivered a double whammy to the trade as he both confirmed the display ban and promised to press ahead with consultations over the introduction of plain packaging.

Lansley’s paper Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Strategy for England revealed it would be delaying and amending the terms of the ban to reduce the impact on retailers.

The ban will be imposed on large supermarkets in April 2012 instead of this October; and smaller stores have been given a stay of execution of a further 18 months to April 2015.

The consultation on whether to put tobacco products in plain packaging will commence before the end of this year, as Lansley looks to force cigarette consumption lower, amid evidence that it has plateaued at 21% for the past four years.

Smaller retailers, resigned to ­action, look on the latest proposals as a minor reprieve. “Three years ago we were expecting the display ban would be introduced pretty quickly and at the same time for everyone,” said one. “This is a bit of a result as we will have three years’ grace compared with the ­supermarkets and two years more than we were expecting.”

Another said that while he wasn’t expecting people to suddenly stop buying tobacco from supermarkets, it might give independents a stronger negotiating position with big suppliers.

But in terms of ultimate outcomes, the industry is united in its conviction that organised crime is the real beneficiary. “This is a criminal’s charter,” said one.

Most disappointing, said The Association of Convenience Stores, was the lack of a co-ordinated programme to fight illicit trade with measures such as the display ban, plain packaging and a continued promise to use tax to maintain the high price of tobacco all likely to contribute to an increase in smuggling activity.

“The plan is so inadequate,” said chief executive James Lowman. The HMRC’s £900m budget covers all forms of tax evasion, and is a drop in the ocean, he says, as 20% of tobacco consumed comes from the illegal market. “This network run by ruthless criminal gangs flourishes in our most deprived communities. Their unregulated and unscrupulous activities undermine all the government seeks to achieve in reducing smoking and yet it is still not the priority concern in their strategy and there are no new ideas.”

Although the introduction of plain packaging is still far from a done deal, the industry believes the criminals will be licking their lips in anticipation of another move to drive cigarettes out of sight. Andrew Gilbert, business ­development director for anti-counterfeiting specialist Ingenia Technology, says the counterfeiters have already become skilled at copying genuine brands but plain packs would “make entry into the market much easier for the bad guys,” he warns.

The British Retail Consortium questioned the futility of consulting on plain packs before the display ban has even come into effect. “It doesn’t make sense to enact one part of this plan while another is still under discussion,” says BRC food director Andrew Opie. “Banning shop displays of cigarettes in plain packets is pointless duplication.”

Japan Tobacco International UK MD Martin Southgate called on the government to ensure “any consultation is a genuine and transparent process, which takes into account the best contemporary ­scientific thinking on how minors and adult consumers think and act”.

There were even some voices this week claiming that the display ban is still not certain to come into force arguing that during the course of the discussion on plain packs the government might decide this would be enough and therefore call off the ban.

At least, in the search for consolation, the industry has found an unlikely celebrity champion this week. England cricketing hero Kevin Pietersen, despite being a non-smoker, tweeted this week: “Kids start smoking or try smoking cos its ‘cool’,” he said. “Tackle the ‘coolness’ problem & I reckon you’ll solve it.. Rant over!”.