Illegal cigarettes continue to pour into N.S.

Posted Aug 27, 2013 08:51:02 AM.

This article is more than 5 years old.

The number of illegal smokes sold in Nova Scotia is on the rise, and a national organization wants the province to step in to stop it.

According to recent data, 14 percent of cigarettes sold in Atlantic Canada are illegal and therefore aren’t generating tax revenue.

Jacqueline Bradley is the executive director of the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco and she tells The Herald that if it’s left unchecked there is a danger that buying illegal cigarettes will be come entrenched in our lifestyle.

Bradley says the penalties imposed on those who are caught selling illegal smokes are far too light and do not act as much of a deterrent.

According to The Herald, the province generates about $209-million each year in cigarette tax revenue but lose about $18-million in illegal sales.

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