Poison danger of bogus cigarettes - The Herald

Poison danger of bogus cigarettes - The Herald

Poison danger of bogus cigarettes

A SCOTTISH scientist has discovered high levels of carcinogenic heavy metals in counterfeit cigarettes widely available throughout the UK.
Research by Dr Ed Stephens, of St Andrews University, revealed that a typical counterfeit cigarette contained five times more cadmium than genuine brands and three times more arsenic. They also contained six times more lead.
The findings of the senior lecturer in geoscience were the centrepiece of a government campaign yesterday to warn smokers about the extra health risks of fake cigarettes.
A parallel study published by Customs and Excise revealed that more than half the million-plus cigarettes seized each day are counterfeit. In London, 85% of the cigarettes sold informally are fakes.
While 250 gangs had been broken up in the past four years, the smuggled share of the cigarette market still stood at 15%, worth £500m, it said.
Dr Stephens's study raises concern that the fake cigarettes are being imported from areas, such as China and Eastern Europe, which were abandoned by big cigarette makers because the tobacco was grown on strongly acidic soils which were thought to have higher levels of cadmium.
Dr Stephens said: "Even at low concentrations, arsenic and cadmium can cause cancers in humans, and, like lead, they can give rise to other disorders. The main purchasers of counterfeit cigarettes are those on low incomes, young people who then become addicted to smoking or the socially disadvantaged for whom so many other factors impact negatively on their state of health that the addition of another factor is potentially very serious."
He stumbled over the heavy metal contamination of illicit cigarettes by accident while setting out on research into how heavy metals get into the body.
"We did not set out to look at counterfeit cigarettes, just regular brands because it was a way of finding out how heavy metals affect our environment.
"But, when I found out counterfeits were such a big part of the market, I thought that if we wanted to know what is going into the lungs of the British working population we have to include these.
"So we asked customs for samples and they obliged."
Dr Stephens said: "I am not a toxicologist. But hopefully some toxicologists will start thinking about what effect these elements might have."
At the Downing Street campaign launch yesterday, John Healey, the customs minister, warned that it was nearly impossible to detect from packaging whether cigarettes were fake or genuine.
He said: "As we have disrupted the supply lines and made it more difficult and more expensive for the international smuggling gangs to get their hands on genuine cigarettes, they are starting to manufacture their own, fake versions."
A third of UK smokers say they sometimes buy fake cigarettes, but only one in five know their packs are smuggled.
A SCOTTISH scientist has discovered high levels of carcinogenic heavy metals in counterfeit cigarettes widely available throughout the UK.
Research by Dr Ed Stephens, of St Andrews University, revealed that a typical counterfeit cigarette contained five times more cadmium than genuine brands and three times more arsenic. They also contained six times more lead.
The findings of the senior lecturer in geoscience were the centrepiece of a government campaign yesterday to warn smokers about the extra health risks of fake cigarettes.
A parallel study published by Customs and Excise revealed that more than half the million-plus cigarettes seized each day are counterfeit. In London, 85% of the cigarettes sold informally are fakes.
While 250 gangs had been broken up in the past four years, the smuggled share of the cigarette market still stood at 15%, worth £500m, it said.
Dr Stephens's study raises concern that the fake cigarettes are being imported from areas, such as China and Eastern Europe, which were abandoned by big cigarette makers because the tobacco was grown on strongly acidic soils which were thought to have higher levels of cadmium.
Dr Stephens said: "Even at low concentrations, arsenic and cadmium can cause cancers in humans, and, like lead, they can give rise to other disorders. The main purchasers of counterfeit cigarettes are those on low incomes, young people who then become addicted to smoking or the socially disadvantaged for whom so many other factors impact negatively on their state of health that the addition of another factor is potentially very serious."
He stumbled over the heavy metal contamination of illicit cigarettes by accident while setting out on research into how heavy metals get into the body.
"We did not set out to look at counterfeit cigarettes, just regular brands because it was a way of finding out how heavy metals affect our environment.
"But, when I found out counterfeits were such a big part of the market, I thought that if we wanted to know what is going into the lungs of the British working population we have to include these.
"So we asked customs for samples and they obliged."
Dr Stephens said: "I am not a toxicologist. But hopefully some toxicologists will start thinking about what effect these elements might have."
At the Downing Street campaign launch yesterday, John Healey, the customs minister, warned that it was nearly impossible to detect from packaging whether cigarettes were fake or genuine.
He said: "As we have disrupted the supply lines and made it more difficult and more expensive for the international smuggling gangs to get their hands on genuine cigarettes, they are starting to manufacture their own, fake versions."
A third of UK smokers say they sometimes buy fake cigarettes, but only one in five know their packs are smuggled.
A SCOTTISH scientist has discovered high levels of carcinogenic heavy metals in counterfeit cigarettes widely available throughout the UK.
Research by Dr Ed Stephens, of St Andrews University, revealed that a typical counterfeit cigarette contained five times more cadmium than genuine brands and three times more arsenic. They also contained six times more lead.
The findings of the senior lecturer in geoscience were the centrepiece of a government campaign yesterday to warn smokers about the extra health risks of fake cigarettes.
A parallel study published by Customs and Excise revealed that more than half the million-plus cigarettes seized each day are counterfeit. In London, 85% of the cigarettes sold informally are fakes.
While 250 gangs had been broken up in the past four years, the smuggled share of the cigarette market still stood at 15%, worth £500m, it said.
Dr Stephens's study raises concern that the fake cigarettes are being imported from areas, such as China and Eastern Europe, which were abandoned by big cigarette makers because the tobacco was grown on strongly acidic soils which were thought to have higher levels of cadmium.
Dr Stephens said: "Even at low concentrations, arsenic and cadmium can cause cancers in humans, and, like lead, they can give rise to other disorders. The main purchasers of counterfeit cigarettes are those on low incomes, young people who then become addicted to smoking or the socially disadvantaged for whom so many other factors impact negatively on their state of health that the addition of another factor is potentially very serious."
He stumbled over the heavy metal contamination of illicit cigarettes by accident while setting out on research into how heavy metals get into the body.
"We did not set out to look at counterfeit cigarettes, just regular brands because it was a way of finding out how heavy metals affect our environment.
"But, when I found out counterfeits were such a big part of the market, I thought that if we wanted to know what is going into the lungs of the British working population we have to include these.
"So we asked customs for samples and they obliged."
Dr Stephens said: "I am not a toxicologist. But hopefully some toxicologists will start thinking about what effect these elements might have."
At the Downing Street campaign launch yesterday, John Healey, the customs minister, warned that it was nearly impossible to detect from packaging whether cigarettes were fake or genuine.
He said: "As we have disrupted the supply lines and made it more difficult and more expensive for the international smuggling gangs to get their hands on genuine cigarettes, they are starting to manufacture their own, fake versions."
A third of UK smokers say they sometimes buy fake cigarettes, but only one in five know their packs are smuggled.
MARTIN WILLIAMS December 16 2004 Copyright © 2004 Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights Reserved