Warning over counterfeit cigarettes

THE ready availability of cheap counterfeit cigarettes is introducing young people to smoking when they otherwise could not afford the habit, according to a public health specialist who addressed a conference on smuggling in Dublin yesterday.

There is a perception that buying cheap cigarettes on the black market is “okay because you are getting one over on the taxman,” added Peter Astley, head of Public Protection with Warrington Borough Council in Britain.

He also warned that because counterfeit tobacco is produced illegally “there are no health and safety” standards or legislation in place at the various factories in south east Asia.