DUBLIN: Cigarette smuggling is on the rise in Dublin, a retailer lobby group have claimed. Retailers Against Smuggling Spokesperson Benny Gilsenan said the crime is “rampant” in the capital and is having a severe effect on small businesses. “Small shops are being forced to close down because of illegal trade,” he said. “It’s not just the profit from the cigarettes, it’s the fact that smokers are not coming in to buy other things like a bottle of water here, a pack of crisps there.”
A recent report published by Grant Thornton pointed to rising tax rates as a driving factor in the tobacco smuggling trade. “We have now reached a stage where the price of legitimate products is over double that of smuggled cigarettes,” Gilsenan added.
“For most consumers, that’s a no-brainer and they will choose the cheap, illegal products.” Gilsenan stressed that he supports the Government’s attempts to discourage smoking, but increases in tax must be accompanied by a crackdown on smuggling. “Revenue and the Gardai are doing their best, but they don’t have the support of the Government and the Courts.
“They can only catch the small fries, and even then they just end up with a slap on the wrist.”We need to track down the smugglers at the top of the chain.”
This comes after the news that Ireland is the second most expensive country in the EU to buy tobacco products.
