Contraband cigarettes cost Ontario a $1B a year, group says

It’s no secret that cigarettes are pretty expensive, and a lot of that has to do the taxes that are slapped on them.

The cost leads many people to buy contraband smokes as they try to skirt much of the expense.

The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco was in town on Thursday to speak with local politicians about the dangers of the trade, not only to the government’s bottom line, but also about the social costs.

Spokesperson Gary Grant says there are two main levels of contraband sale and production: roadside shacks and the more insidious large-scale factories that can pump out 10,000 smokes a minute. That money is being diverted from taxpayers to criminals, he said.

“We’re losing about a billion dollars a year both provincially and federally in Ontario.”

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Grant says also of concern are items found during smuggling busts, including weapons and even drugs like fentanyl.