Clampdown on illegal tobacco

PETER Astley, Warrington’s public protection chief and chairman of a regional body tackling illicit tobacco sales has pledged his commitment to keeping the issues at the top of the agenda for the town this year.
Mr Astley – who was awarded the MBE for his work in the field – will be speardheading a number of campaigns to raise awareness of the problem.
He said: “The work we’ve been doing to raise awareness about illegal tobacco across the region is getting the recognition and results it deserves, but we are not complacent, our work is far from finished.
“Residents across the North West are concerned about these issues and are right behind us in our campaign to get rid of illegal tobacco in our communities.”
Mr Astley is chairman of the North West regional steering group of the North of England Tackling Illicit Tobacco for Better Health programme.
His work with the programme has involved bringing together local health workers, Trading Standards, HMRC and the police for the first time to tackle illegal tobacco and has been crucial to the success of the recent ‘Get Some Answers’ campaign that ran in the summer of 2010.
The campaign, which urged residents to report any suspected illegal tobacco sales in their area led to an increase in the number of raids and confiscations.
Andrea Crossfield, director of Smokefree North West, said: “Illegal tobacco is easily available and cheap, making it a key reason why children and young people are able to start smoking.
“Smoking is a addiction of childhood with most smokers – 80 per cent, starting as teenagers. Tackling illegal tobacco is crucial if we’re going to prevent future generations from taking up smoking.”
Thousands of teenagers aged 14 to 17 in the North West admit to regularly buying fake cigarettes in 2009.
Continuing to tackle illegal tobacco is still a priority on Mr Astley’s list in order to prevent future generations from taking up smoking and getting addicted.
For more information or to report illegal cigarette sales, people are being urged to log onto www.get-some-answers.co.uk or ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.