UK-produced cigarette packets and hand-rolled tobacco will in future carry anti-counterfeit features in an attempt to halt the significant trade in non-genuine tobacco goods.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) estimates sales of counterfeit cigarettes and other tobacco products have resulted in some £25bn in lost revenues since 2000/2001.
However, contrary to national newspaper reports in the days following Chancellor Gordon Brown's unveiling of the new anti-counterfeiting initiative, senior Customs personnel told Packaging Today no decision has yet been taken on what form the additional security features might take.
Brown told MPs in his March 21 Budget Speech the government had been working closely with the tobacco industry and tobacco manufacturers and would be implementing the scheme on a voluntary basis in the coming year.
In welcoming the announcement the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association (TMA), whose members include British American Tobacco, Gallaher and Imperial Tobacco, said that last year alone it believes around two billion counterfeit cigarettes were smuggled into the UK, around 3% of a total of 67.5 billion individual “stick” units consumed.
Although UK tobacco counterfeiting has fallen slightly in recent years, TMA spokesman Ian Howell said illegally sold cigarettes not only cost the industry dearly, but could sometimes pose a significant health risk. Of the form any security measures might take he said: “Neither we nor our members have confirmed anything; media speculation that cigarette packets might soon incorporate electronic chips is merely that." He would neither confirm nor deny that RFID or other electronic chipping technologies were under consideration.
In a statement TMA director Chris Ogden said: “Covert features to be included on UK cigarette packs will allow Customs officers to instantly authenticate genuine product through small handheld readers.”
TMA director Chris Ogden; the Association is tight-lipped on what form any additional security measures on cigarette packs might take Chris_at_600_dpi
