Raids reveal toxic cigarette problem

AROUND 1,600 fake cigarettes were seized during a blitz on sellers of illegal imports.

Officials targeted 35 pubs and shops in Bentilee and Townsend in Stoke-on-Trent.

More than 3.4kg of rolling tobacco was also seized in a joint operation by officers from HM Revenue and Customs, NHS Stoke-on-Trent and Stoke-on-Trent City Council's Trading Standards and Environmental Health teams.

Tobacco and cigarettes on which duty had not been paid were discovered at two businesses.

Bentilee and Townsend were chosen for the crackdown because they have the highest adult smoking rates in the city.

The figure, 45 per cent of the population, is nearly double the national average of 24 per cent.

Organisers said the aim of the blitz was to raise awareness of the dangers of illegal cigarettes, which can contain ingredients including rat droppings and sawdust.

And they added people caught buying or selling illegal tobacco in their workplace could end up with a fine, disciplinary action or even the sack, with the company also facing punishment.

It is not known whether any fines were handed out in last week's raids.

Clare McIver, senior health improvement specialist at NHS Stoke-on-Trent, said: "Buying cheap cigarettes from someone in a pub or on a street corner might seem like a bargain at first, but when you consider that they often contain all sorts of disgusting ingredients such as insects, rat droppings and sawdust it doesn't sound like such a good idea.

"Illegal cigarettes are made in very unhygienic conditions and pose a serious risk to the health of people that smoke them."

One of the pubs targeted was Bentilee's Hollybush Inn, in Ubberley Road, where no illegal tobacco was found.

Landlord Lee Gilbert said: "We are always on the lookout for illegal cigarettes and train staff to be, though we've never had anything like that here.

"I don't want a big fine. I've seen stories about other pubs being hit with fines. A clampdown is a great idea to make sure this is not happening here."

Youngsters aged under 18, the minimum age for buying tobacco, were also sent into shops to try to buy cigarettes.

Two 15-year-olds went into 13 shops and all refused to serve them.

Elsewhere, a roadshow was staged to highlight the issue of illegal cigarettes.

Stoke-on-Trent Stop Smoking Service spoke to 45 people about the dangers of counterfeit tobacco and advised them about help available to kick the habit.

Smoking is the single most preventable cause of ill health and death in Stoke-on-Trent, killing over 500 people every year.