Reduce the supply of illegal cigarettes

  1. Tougher penalties for criminals

    • Strengthen current penalties for possession and sale of illegal cigarettes including for significant quantities and subsequent offences
    • Seizure and forfeiture of goods, including vehicles, used in the manufacture, distribution and sale of illegal cigarettes
    • Mandatory suspension of drivers licenses for criminals who use a vehicle to smuggle cigarettes
    • Empower municipalities to institute penal proceedings before municipal courts
    • A number of these recommendations have recently been made law in Quebec through Bill 59 and should be included via amendments to the Excise Act, 2001.

  2. Legal restrictions on cigarette manufacturing components

    There are more than 50 illegal cigarette factories on Indian reserves in Canada, pumping out billions of illegal cigarettes a year. The RCMP and CRA have closed none of these factories. The Canadian government should restrict the use of specialized manufacturing components, making it more difficult for criminals to manufacture cigarettes.

    Recommendations:
    • include a definition of ‘critical non-tobacco materials’ in the Excise Act to include cigarette paper, cigarette tipping paper, cigarette filters and acetate tow
    • amend the Excise Act, 2001 to prohibit the manufacture and sale of critical non-tobacco materials by or to any person who is not licensed
    • amend the ‘Licensing Regulation’ to strengthen controls on the issue and re-issue of licenses including mandatory audits for the issuance and renewal of all licenses

    Reduce the demand for illegal cigarettes

  3. Public education campaign

    Surveys show that most Canadians don't know that buying smuggled cigarettes is illegal, and don't realize the harm it does to our kids, our economy and our neighbourhoods. When Canadians realize they're supporting biker gangs and other criminals -- and hurting their neighbourhood corner stores -- they'll do the right thing. I early 2009, the Federal Government announced that a public education campaign would be launched. Now's the time.

    Recommendation:
    The Ontario Korean Businessmen’s Association would like to work with the government in the development and roll out of the education campaign in our communities and stores across Ontario and the rest of the country.

  4. World No Tobacco Day announcement

    Tackling illegal cigarettes is a difficult problem, but the government can start with a firm moral commitment. Every year in May is World No Tobacco Day, when governments around the world announce a new anti-smoking initiative. Public health and tobacco control groups expressed their disappointment with the government’s lack of funding and absence of new federal measures to fight illegal cigarettes during a hearing in the House of Commons on April 27, 2010.

    Recommendation:
    Given that illegal cigarettes are recognized by government, public health and tobacco control groups and small business as the largest risk of youth smoking in Canada, the government should make this their signature issue for World No Tobacco Day 2010.

  5. Tax fairness

    The dramatic growth of illegal cigarette sales is directly correlated with the increase of tobacco taxes in Ontario and Quebec.

    Recommendation:
    Increased enforcement and public awareness is important, but the only sure way to curtail illegal cigarettes is to take the profit out of them for organized crime . A tax reduction -- to where taxes were before the smuggling took off -- would ensure that cigarette crime didn't pay.