News from Peterborough City Council

In an excellent example of partnership working, officers from Peterborough City Council's Trading Standards team and Imperial Tobacco joined forces as part of a crackdown on illegal tobacco sales within Peterborough.

 

The targeted enforcement found 10 premises to be selling counterfeit or duty free tobacco related products as well as unclassified pornographic DVDs. As a result, counterfeit and duty free tobacco with an estimated value of £2,000 will be destroyed.

 

Peter Gell, environmental and public protection services section head at the city council, said: "This will hopefully alleviate some of the problems regarding illegal sales within Peterborough, which in turn will benefit both consumers and genuine traders. Buying cheap cigarettes may not be the bargain you expect and could pose an increased health risk."

 

Tests on counterfeit cigarettes in the past have shown higher concentrations of harmful substances than their genuine counterparts, including: three times more arsenic; five times more cadmium; 5.8 times more lead; 160 per cent more tar; 80 per cent more nicotine; and 133 per cent more carbon monoxide.

 

All premises visited were educated on their legal obligations relating to age restricted products, such as alcohol, knives, cigarettes and the lottery, and that Trading Standards conducted routine test purchasing to ensure compliance with the legislation on a regular basis.

 

Peter added: "It was encouraging to see that this project was very well received by genuine traders who have for some time felt aggrieved that their businesses had been suffering as a result of the illegal products.

 

"We would also wish to point out that many of the premises said they had purchased the goods, described as 'bankrupt stock', from the back of a van. As per usual, these were illegal or counterfeit products. We urge all consumers and businesses to only buy goods from reputable sources."

 

For further information or to speak to Trading Standards, call (01733) 747474 or visit www.peterborough.gov.uk.