Lisburn second highest for illicit tobacco in the UK

According to the survey paid for by Philip Morris the tobacco manufacturer, which has just been released covering the fourth quarter of 2011, it reveals that Lisburn ranks second in the list of cities with 43.3% of non-domestic incidence.

Duty goes unpaid on almost one in two cigarettes smoked in Lisburn. That does not include hand-rolled tobacco, for which HMRC estimates that as much as half of UK consumption is sourced on the black market.

The survey shows that the level of non-duty paid cigarettes increased nationally from 10.6% in the second quarter of 2011 to 14.9% at the end of the year.

In the UK, £2.2bn is estimated to be lost in illegal cigarettes, and £880 million is estimated to be lost in illegal hand-rolling tobacco.

Cigarettes recently intercepted by the UK Border Agency contained asbestos, rat droppings, human faeces, dead flies, and mould among other substances.