House to Home with Amber Rudd MP: Risks of fake cigarettes
HASTINGS is famous for its history of smuggling.
One of my favourite displays at the Smugglers Adventure, St Clements Caves, on the West Hill, is of the horse shoes pointing backwards to confuse the pursuing law enforcers as to the direction of the horse born smugglers.
But smuggling is no longer about brandy and French lace.
Now we need to be vigilant about some dangerous smuggling of cigarettes.
It may seem harmless enough, buying cigarettes for £3 over the counter at a local store.
Unfortunately the buyers and the vendors, are doing more than cheating the Government and fellow tax payers of the legitimate duty on the tobacco, which is bad enough.
They are also endangering the health of the consumers more than they can imagine.
The smuggled cigarettes are often not just duty free from across the Channel. They are ‘fake’ cigarettes.
However damaging regular cigarettes are, we do at least know the health risks.
But these unregulated fake fags, are loaded with lead and other nasty bits of poison.
Recently, a test of one packet of smuggled cigarettes revealed that they had eight times as much lead in them as normal ones.
Just because regular cigarettes are bad for your health, doesn’t mean that smokers should give up on a regulated standard.
Smokers need to look after their health too.
I urge smokers to check what they are smoking. Don’t touch the cheap smuggled brand.
They could be a lot more dangerous than you think.
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Weather for Hastings
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
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Light showers
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Comments
There are 2 comments to this article
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nightriderM
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 06:38 PMSeems to me that we are on our way back to the days of smugglers,higher and higher taxes on cigs,tobacco,wine and spirits is just asking for more smuggling. The old booze cruises are starting to pay again thanks to dumb politicians and other do gooders who always think they know best for everyone else.A half decent bottle of wine here is £4-5,in France the same is £1-2.Need say no more.
crystal peaks man
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 10:54 PMScrew the goverment,its partly their fault that this goes on with the ammount ot tax they pile on cigs,they are killing the working man,tory or liebour or fib dem are all the same.sod em all.
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