Tobacco smuggling kills more than illegal drugs
- Published: 10 October 2008 14:27
- Author: Richard Staines
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- Last Updated: 10 October 2008 14:27
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Tobacco smuggling is killing more people than illegal drugs, according to a study.
According to an analysis by leading doctors, tobacco smuggling causes around 4,000 premature deaths a year.
This is four times the number of deaths caused by the use of all smuggled illegal drugs put together.
Around 21% of all tobacco smoked in the UK is smuggled and if there were no smuggling the price of legal tobacco would increase by around 12%.
According to the authors, around 5-8% of smokers would kick the habit if prices increased by this amount, saving at least 4,000 lives a year.
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