Despite being seen as a victimless crime by some, the trade in illegal tobacco is something that we should all be concerned about.
It is reported that illegal tobacco is responsible for four times as many deaths as drugs, and that 4,000 fewer people would die each year from smoking-related illnesses in the UK if tobacco smuggling were wiped out.
And because illegal cigarettes are far cheaper - up to half the price of legal ones - they make it easier for children to take up the habit, encourage people to smoke more, and make it harder for smokers to quit.
But it's not just the health issues we should be worried about. Illegal tobacco also brings low-level and large-scale organised crime into our community, and can even help fund drugs and alcohol smuggling, money laundering and terrorism.
We read this in an article from the British Medical Journal (2008) called 'Why combating tobacco smuggling is a priority', and on the Cancer Research website at: www.cancerresearchuk.org
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