Britain Scotland reports medicines Discover Britain Scotland

Brits cigarettes could be 'laced with poo' after black market spike sees cheap fakes sold

Reading now: 178
www.dailystar.co.uk

cigarettes laced with poo have spiked as the black market for cheap fags booms amid Britain’s cost of living crisis.Gangs are cashing in on soaring prices as smokers in the north and Midlands struggle to afford legitimate cigs, found the makers of Marlboro.Almost one in five smokes puffed in the UK is either contraband or counterfeit, a report by Philip Morris International revealed. READ MORE Bedford fire: One dead in huge 'inferno' as police warn 'more bodies' could be found This rises to nearly one in three in the north east and more than one in four in Yorkshire and the Humber.Former Scotland Yard detective chief inspector Will O’Reilly, now a consultant for the tobacco industry, said: “Illicit cigarettes pose a risk to people’s homes in terms of house fires and they’ve been found to contain contaminants, such as mites, insect eggs, fungi and even faeces.”Mr O’Reilly said he and his team found phony gaspers are “widely available” for sale on British streets “month-in, month-out”.He added: “Organised criminal groups appear to consider the risk of being caught well worth the prospect of making around £1.5million profit for every container load they bring into the UK.”Hair and animal excrement has been regularly discovered in seized fake ciggies, said the firm, which is working with custom officers.Sales of bogus tobacco products jumped by more than a third last year, topping three billion cigarettes for the first time. To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up for one of our newsletters here .It comes after Philip Morris broke ranks with rival tobacco firms to call for a ban on cigarettes by 2030.The global giant, which also makes brands including Chesterfield and L&M, wants to switch to.

Read more on dailystar.co.uk
The website celebsbar.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.

Related News

DMCA