Friday December 28, 2012
Illegal cigs sold at half price
By EILEEN NG
[email protected]
KUALA LUMPUR: Illegal cigarettes of local brands are being sold nationwide at half the market price, raising fears that it could undermine efforts to stem the flow of contraband cigarettes into the country.
These contraband cigarettes are sold between RM2.50 and RM5 for a pack of 20 sticks at sundry shops and kopitiams at rural areas and smaller towns, far below the set minimum price of RM7.
In describing it as an “alarming new trend”, the Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers (CMTM) said these cigarettes even come with fake security markings and false manufacturer's addresses.
Rising concern: Shahrul pointing to a chart showing the increasing use of illegal cigarettes.
“This new illegal segment made up 4.2% of the current 34.9% of illicit cigarettes sold in the country,” said CMTM chief executive Shahrul Azamin Abdullah at a press conference yesterday when unveiling the federation's latest Illicit Cigarettes Study.
The study, conducted from June to August, revealed an increase of 0.2% in contraband cigarettes being sold in Malaysia, from 34.7% from March to May to 34.9% from June to August.
The Star front paged a report in April last year where Malaysians light up a staggering nine billion sticks of illegal cigarettes each year, costing the Government RM2bil in tax revenue.
This means almost four out of 10 cigarettes smoked in the country are illegal, making Malaysia the world's No. 1 country for the trade of illegal cigarettes.
However, the study noted that, on a year-on-year basis for the same period of June to August, it found that the number of contraband cigarettes registered a tiny 1.4% drop.
Shahrul attributed the decrease to the concerted efforts by the police, Customs, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Health and Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism ministries to tackle the influx of illegal cigarettes.
