Brussels, 03/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - The new directive on tobacco products could, as it stands today, significantly increase the risk of illegal trade in tobacco. This is the fear expressed by Transcrime, the joint research centre on transnational crime, which sets out the problem in a new report published on Tuesday 3 April.
The report examines in detail the current options and provisions of the proposal for a directive, which will be presented by the European Commission during 2012, and especially notes three provisions likely to facilitate the activity of criminal gangs in the tobacco sector: - the generic packaging for tobacco products, implementation of a polluter pays principle, and a ban on the display of tobacco products at the point of sale. “Some of the policy options envisaged by the European Commission carry significant risks of creating unintended opportunities for the illicit trade in tobacco products. In particular, there is a high risk that a measure such as generic packaging may increase the counterfeiting of tobacco products and make it difficult for consumers to distinguish legitimate products from illegitimate ones”, said Ernesto Savona, Professor in Criminology, who wrote the report. As far as the polluter pays principle is concerned, the rise in retail prices arising from the measure could generate counterfeiting with smokers turning to less expensive products. Finally, prohibiting retailers from displaying tobacco products may facilitate under-the-counter sales of illicit products, not only by official but also by illicit retailers. The impact assessment study currently being conducted by DG SANCO on the proposal for a directive, which examines the economic, social and health impact as well as the feasibility of various strategic options, does not, however, pay attention to the potential impact of the illicit trade in tobacco products, Transcrime complains. The research centre wishes to draw the attention of political decision-makers to these risks and recommends additional research on the future proposal. “The EU tobacco market is already extremely vulnerable to illicit trade and so greater caution should be exercised when considering the introduction of new policy measures in the tobacco market”, concludes Ernesto Savona. (IL/transl.jl)