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Contraband tobacco is any tobacco product that is not taxed or regulated, and is illegal.
Contraband tobacco is most easily recognized by the public as 200 cigarettes in a clear plastic bag with no health warnings or labels, sold for a much cheaper price than regulated cigarettes.
Lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, stroke - smoking ANY cigarette is harmful and can cause serious illness and disease whether they are cheap or taxed. Insect eggs, mould, dead flies and human feces have all been found in contraband cigarettes. Contraband cigarettes tend to be cheaper than regulated cigarettes, but have just as many chemicals in them - 4000 deadly chemicals.
Contraband tobacco is illegal. Fines for possession under the Criminal Code range from $500-$2,500 for a first offence of 50 cartons or less, to $2,500-$25,000 for more than 50 cartons.
Contraband tobacco has been linked to organized crime activities. Money raised from the sale of illegal tobacco supports other criminal activities such as; drug trafficking, weapons, counterfeit cash and money laundering operations.
Contraband tobacco has a direct impact on youth. Youth are price-sensitive and the cost of cigarettes plays a role in preventing youth from smoking, and encouraging smokers to quit.
The cheap price of and easy access to contraband tobacco also has an impact on people who have quit smoking, and those who are trying to quit. Often the taxes on regulated cigarettes motivate people to make a quit attempt or to stay smoke-free- when someone has easy access to cheap cigarettes, they are less likely to quit smoking.
When the cost of cigarettes goes up, smoking rates go down. When the price of cigarettes goes up by 10%, there is a 4% decrease in smoking rates.
Regulated tobacco products are taxed by the provincial government - $24.70 is added to the price of every carton. A portion of this tax money goes directly into healthcare costs to help pay for the care of people sick with smoking-related illness and disease. The direct health-care costs from smoking costs the province of Ontario over $1.5 billion every year.
Reducing tobacco taxes is not and cannot be part of the solution to the contraband problem. Ontario and Quebec have the lowest tobacco taxes in Canada, but the highest rates of contraband tobacco use - lowering taxes does not solve the issue.
Smoking ANY cigarette is harmful. It is our goal to raise the number of people who attempt to quit smoking and work toward lowering smoking rates - it doesn't matter if a smoker is smoking regulated or illegal tobacco.