Non-domestic tobacco consumption in Spain soared in the first half of this year and now accounts for 10.2% of the total, almost double the same period last year (5.2%), according to the latest Empty Packaging Survey (EPS) by consulting firm Ipsos. That amazing increase break the downward trend This figure has been recorded for the past 10 years, and the proportion of cigarettes consumed informally is at 2017 levels.
“We don’t know exactly what caused the rebound, but one factor that may have caused it was the tax reform in Spain on January 1st. caused a price increase It could encourage consumers to try to buy cigarettes in other markets,” says Rocio Ingelmo, Legal and Corporate Director at Altadis, whose 10th Conference Against Tobacco Smuggling opens this Thursday in La Linea de la Concepción (Cádiz).
This non-domestic tobacco includes contraband and counterfeit products, Purchased legally in another country or the Canary IslandsTax rates are lower than on the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. In this sense, Ingelma stressed that “Spain is surrounded by markets where tobacco prices are low, such as Gibraltar, Andorra and Portugal,” and called on the government to make fiscal policy “rational.”
“Andorra and Gibraltar have done their homework by gradually raising tobacco taxes and the price difference is narrowing, but in Spain we have to recognize that there are cheaper markets nearby, because if fiscal policy is very aggressive, that will be affected in the end.” Consumers will buy packages outside And tax collections will go down, not up,” Ingelmo explained, recalling that non-domestic tobacco consumption cost the state treasury 467 million euros in the first half of this year.
“France is the most obvious example because they decided to double the price of cigarettes to reduce smoking rates, and the consequences are as follows.” Its illegal level has reached 40%In fact, Spanish tobacco shops near the French border are suffering because the price of cigarettes in Spain is still lower than in France. “The same thing is happening in the Netherlands, where they have increased prices significantly and are looking at how consumers buy cigarettes in Germany,” Ingelmo said.
Most affected autonomous regions: Extremadura and Andalusia
Extremadura (26.7%) and Andalusia (23.7%) are the two regions most affected by illicit tobacco consumption due to their proximity to Portugal and Gibraltar, but there are significant differences compared to the rest of the regions. Castile and Leon is in third place, accounting for 9.9% of the total. However, in the first half of this year, Increase in illegal consumption in all autonomous regionsaccording to an Ipsos study.
Looking city by city, it is even clearer that proximity to these cheaper markets favors informal tobacco consumption. In Algeciras, the capital of Campo de Gibraltar, 96% of packs analyzed They do not have a corresponding tax sticker from the Treasury Department. So seeing a fiat package in the city of Cadiz is like finding a four-leaf clover.
Of the 10 cities with the highest consumption of non-domestic tobacco in Spain, Nine have been found in Andalusia.: Algeciras (96%), Almeria (28.6%), Seville (26.4%), Dos Hermanas (23.8%), Cadiz (20.9%), Marbella (20.8%), Jaén (20.4%), Cordoba (19.5%), Huelva (17.8%). Another city in the top 10 is Badajoz (26.7%), which borders Portugal and occupies 3rd place in the ranking.
“Counterfeit cigarettes are not subject to health control.”
Mr. Ingelmo also focuses on counterfeit cigarettes, which increased in the first half of this year and accounted for 1.7% of the total, an increase of six-sixtieths from the same period last year (1.1%). A spokesperson for Altadis said, “This illegal tobacco trade is… has grown significantly since the coronavirus pandemicit was virtually non-existent before. ”
Also on Wednesday, private security forces dismantled a criminal organization in Seville specializing in the production, distribution and sale of smuggled cigarette packets, arresting a total of 45 people. The tissue is tobacco leaf and Cutting and processing were carried out without sanitary controls.a place that is poorly equipped and has obvious dirt. Additionally, the tobacco had no identification labeling indicating its origin. Six other secret facilities were dismantled in the first half of this year, most of them in the Andalusian and Valencian communities.
Obviously all cigarettes are harmful to health, but Ingelmo stressed that illegally manufactured cigarettes can be even more harmful to consumers, saying, “This counterfeit cigarette is completely outside the scope of health control. Tobacco companies should notify the Ministry of Health.” What are the ingredients of each We produce different brands of cigarettes, but we don’t know what these illegal factories are producing.
“This is an example of how the National Police itself has reflected in one of its activities the detention of workers in illegal factories and working in industrial warehouses in extremely unhealthy conditions. They didn’t smoke the cigarettes they made.but they were smoking legal cigarettes. “That gives you an idea of the materials they would use,” he explains.
Similarly, these clandestine facilities, located in industrial parks and rural areas, are equipped with all kinds of machinery for manufacturing and packaging cigarettes. Uses tobacco leaves imported from overseas: “There were no Spanish cigarettes in the recently dismantled factory. Spain has a region called Extremadura that produces raw tobacco, but the raw materials used by these mafias usually come from other countries, such as Romania and Bulgaria.”
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