The One Show's Louise Minchin and Matt Baker with two packets of cigarettes... but which is fake?

The trade in illicit tobacco was the lead feature on last night’s The One Show (21 July 2010) and is available to view online and by download from BBC iPlayer for the next six days.

The item highlights the growing problem of smuggled and fake tobacco.

Smokefree North West is a key agency in The North of England Tackling Illicit Tobacco for Better Health programme, along with colleagues from Fresh Smoke Free North East and Smokefree Yorkshire and the Humber.

The illicit tobacco programme is responsible for the Get Some Answers campaign to stamp out illegal tobacco, which particularly highlights the danger to children that affordable illicit tobacco represents.

Working with partners from Trading Standards and their Scambuster teams, HM Revenue and Customs, the UK Border Agency, police forces, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency and the Association of Chief Police Officers the programme is believed to be the first of its kind in the world.

Access is easy:  just log onto www.ntpd.lacors.gov.uk and browse the directory.

The Directory is supported by both the Department of Health and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs as an aide for regulators, health professionals and businesses offering advice and information about the diverse nature of niche tobacco products and of the legislation that applies to them.

The directory will be  reviewed and updated on a regular basis to ensure that any changes in the supply of these products is reflected in a timely manner, for example by the inclusion of new products as they arise.

Particular thanks to LOTSA (London trading Standards Authorities), SWERCOTS (South West chief Trading Standards Officers) and TSNW (Trading Standards North West) for their support in the development of the content.

If so, we’d love to hear your story… and you could win a family day out! Simply download an entry form and hand it to your SureStart centre or Smokefree Homes advisor. All stories will be entered into the competition and a winner and runner up will be picked from each of the five counties in the North West.

Download an entry for here

Full terms and conditions

1. By entering the competition, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.
2. Entrants must reside within the 5 counties of the North West of England.
3. The competition is not open to employees (or members of their immediate families) of the NHS or any third parties associated with the Take7Steps Out campaign.
4. Entrants must be over the age of 18.
5. Competition closes on 23/07/10, winners will be selected by 28/07/10 and notified by telephone by 30/07/09.
6. Entries will be judged by Smokefree North West and a panel of health care professionals.
7. There will be, per North West county, one top prize (worth up to £150) and one runner up prize (worth up to £25).
8. Prizes cannot be substituted for cash, are subject to availability and must be claimed by 31st August 2010.
9. Competition winners and runners up shall be required to be interviewed about their stories, photographed and filmed and be willing to speak to media about their experiences.
10. Only one entry is allowed per household.
11. Prizes are non-refundable and non-transferable
12. No responsibility will be accepted for ineligible or fraudulent entries.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Promoter excludes all liability arising out of or in connection with the prize draw. These terms are governed by English law. We reserve the right to amend these terms at any time.

Over 8,000 teenagers aged 14 to 17 in the North West admitted to regularly buying fake cigarettes last year, according to a survey by Trading Standards in the North West.*

A recent You Gov survey** highlighted that 74 per cent of people support a crack down on tobacco smuggling. Around 75 per cent of people – many of them mums – who took part in a 2009 NEMS survey were more likely to report someone for selling tobacco if they thought their own children may be at risk from being targeted.

Responding to this and public concern, the ‘Get Some Answers’ Campaign is being launched today by Smokefree North West and enforcement teams from Trading Standards in the region.

The campaign, which is launching simultaneously across the North West and the North East of England, will specifically target mums and other concerned residents in communities who want to keep illegal tobacco out

It will ask them to call crime stoppers or trading standards confidentially with any information they have.

Andrea Crossfield, Director of Smokefree North West, said: “Many people may be tempted to buy tobacco from an acquaintance at work or in the pub who takes regular trips abroad – no questions asked and without realising the damage it is doing in their communities. They may even return from their own holidays with it without knowing the harm it can cause.”

“Illegal tobacco is easily available and cheap, making it a key reason why children and young people are able to start smoking. This campaign will now give parents the opportunity to change things and tackle this problem.

“Smoking is sadly an addiction of childhood with most smokers – 80 per cent, starting as teenagers. Tackling illicit tobacco is crucial if we’re going to prevent future generations form taking up smoking.”

Peter Astley, from Trading Standards North West, said: “We know there are many concerned residents across the North West who may not have known how serious this issue is or what action to take. Our research shows that one in five adult smokers admits to buying illegal cigarettes or tobacco.

“We are encouraging people to stop and think about where their cheap tobacco originally comes from, even if they think they’re buying from a trusted source. This is an evil trade, and there are
wider implications of their actions.

Illegal cigarettes are often purchased from people you know and trust but there is a long supply chain that goes hand in hand with drugs and alcohol smuggling. People are using it as an opportunity to earn some money, making them not care about who they sell the tobacco to.”

For more information or to report illegal cigarettes sales, people are being urged to log onto www.get-some-answers.co.uk or ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or Trading Standards North West 01925 442 466.

*The recent survey for Trading Standards North West carried out by Ci research interviewed young people in the North West during March/April 2009 and showed that illicit tobacco is a significant source for young people. Nearly 13,902 14 to 17 year olds completed the questionnaire and of these 22% said they were smokers.

When asked about their buying habits:

• Nearly one in five (19%) bought from street sellers, vans, neighbours or private houses
• 60% had bought packs of cigarettes with health warnings in a foreign language
• Up to 50% said they had bought fake cigarettes
• There had been a significant fall since a similar survey in 2007 in the numbers saying they bought from off-licences and newsagents. This was attributed to the introduction of the law banning sales to the under 18s. However, those surveyed still cited such shops as one of their main sources of tobacco

Agencies involved in the development of the North of England Tackling Illicit Tobacco for Better Health programme include regional public health organisations (including Smokefree North West, Fresh (Smoke Free North East), and Smokefree Yorkshire & the Humber), trading standards groups, local authorities, the Association of Chief Police Officers, local police forces, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency and the newly formed UK Border Agency.

**YouGov survey: Total sample size was 10276 adults (1442 in the North West). Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th and 22nd March 2010. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all England adults (aged 18+).

In a survey of North West residents released this week, 82 per cent supported the 2007 law, where shops, offices, pubs, factories, restaurants, membership clubs and work vehicles became smokefree.

Incredibly – 66 per cent of those who smoked also backed the law – significantly more than the national average

Over 90 per cent of people who took part in the survey agreed that the laws had had a positive impact. Most said they enjoyed a more pleasant experience when visiting pubs, bars and restaurants.

Dr Janet Atherton, Chair of Smokefree North West said: “This law is one of the greatest public health advances in a generation and becomes more popular each year. Even smokers think it’s a good idea. Smokefree public places have protected us all from the dangerous effects of second hand smoke and saved hundreds of lives.”

NHS Stop Smoking Services provide friendly, free, confidential advice and treatment for smokers at a range of local venues. Anyone wanting to find out where their nearest service is should call 0800 169 0 169.

Working alongside a Department of Health project, Smokefree North West have commissioned a piece of work to help understand the existing lead management processes within the North West Stop Smoking Services. This will help identify current best practice and develop recommendations for ‘the ideal’ prospects and customer relationship management programme.

With smokers being even more difficult to engage with it is therefore so important that every lead, whether they are new to the service, lapsed or lost to follow-up are communicated to in the best possible way. Ultimately this project will help improve conversion from lead to appointment.

Using best practice examples from Stop Smoking Services across the country and examples from the commercial sector, we will deliver an off the shelf programme to help deliver this. We will provide training and a suite of tools, from letter texts, SMS recommendations, lost prospect mailings and recommend a friend packs, all of which will have been researched with the Routine & Manual target groups.

Delivery of the project will be in Quarter 4, however if you would like any further information please contact Matthew Downs on 0161 238 6380/ matthew.downs@emo.uk.com.

This fantastic news means that the Smoke & Mirrors website www.seethroughtheillusion.co.uk can continue to be developed as a valuable user-friendly resource for young people and professionals with the purpose of exposing and raising awareness of tobacco industry practices, and encouraging young people to use social media to highlight these issues to their peers.

It will also mean that the Resource Pack which has been developed with young people can be further developed into an online resource, which will be available in Autumn 2010.

In order to bring a new dimension to the site and to extend our learning the Smoke & Mirrors website will have strong links to the HELP website where they are encouraged to leave ‘tips’ on ‘not starting to smoke, quitting and second hand smoke. This interaction will allow us to take the work of the Smoke & Mirrors project into Europe to raise awareness of tobacco industry practices amongst European Youth.

Smokefree North West is really excited by this news and looks forwards to a strong partnership with HELP as we take our work to a wider audience.

Andrea Crossfield of Smokefree North West and Peter Astley of Trading Standards North West pictured at Manchester Airport as the the groups aim to tackle illegal tobacco imports. Photo:www.jonparkerlee.com

Peter said: “After many months of research and development finally launching the campaign was a major milestone for the Programme. The campaign materials and messages have been really well received we’d like to thank all those involved for their hard work and support.” 

The campaign has been developed alongside a range of partners from across health, trading standards and HRMC with the initial task of raising awareness of illicit tobacco as a significant local issue amongst our target audience- those who either purchase or are close to those who purchase, illegal tobacco. Significant audience insight and testing of a range of creative materials has helped to identify ways to tackle an issue which undermines our tobacco control work.

Illicit tobacco campaign materials have been developed and circulated to all PCT Tobacco leads and Stop Smoking Service Managers. The campaign comprises 6 and 48 sheet posters, radio ads, ambient media (e.g. beermats and washroom posters), clean ads on pavements and street teams. A new public facing web site www.get-some-answers.co.uk has been created to help to raise awareness, and information about illegal tobacco trading can be reported anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

David Wiggins, Illicit Tobacco Programme Manager, said: “The signs are that the campaign is already beginning to take effect. Some areas want to discuss amplifying it in their communities, and it appears that the information flow about illegal tobacco trading is growing, so we can step up enforcement activity.”

The event, hosted by SFNW, who commissioned the toolkit, was opened by Director Andrea Crossfield who said: “Our research demonstrates that smoking prevalence is high amongst the Polish community and the increased stress of settling in a new country coupled with a low awareness of the availability of stop smoking services means it is very difficult for migrant smokers to quit.”

The toolkit was piloted within Central and Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust, where bilingual stop smoking advisor Karolina Ayers provides a drop-in clinic at the Eagle Bridge Health Centre.

One of the highlights of the launch was a talk from Karolina, who invitedJozef Porebski, a Polish client from the service to come along & discuss his experience, Jozef a former 40-a-day smoker said: “I didn’t believe I would be able to do it, I’ve tried so many times before, but I am so glad I did, I feel so healthy and now have more money to spend.” Tina Williams, Performance Improvement and Delivery Manager Smokefree North West, added: “seeing someone who has benefited from the service made the project so real and overwhelmingly valuable.” 

Jane Branson, Deputy Director of Public Health for the PCT, thanked local Polish people for their support in promoting and advertising the service.

The Toolkit and supporting materials can be accessed here

If you would like further information on the project or to request a hard copy of the Toolkit please contact Julia Romancenko on 0161 238 6387 / Julija.romancenko@smokefreenorthwest.org.uk