Windsor teens 'hooked' on contraband cigarettes: study

A growing number of teens in Windsor are getting "hooked" on contraband cigarettes, according to a report released today by the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco.

Thirty-four per cent of cigarette butts collected near Windsor high schools were contraband, according to The Youth Contraband Tobacco Study 2009, four per cent higher than in 2008.

Windsor ranks second in the province for use of contraband cigarettes by teens, who are "having no trouble getting their hands" on the illegal product said Gary Grant, spokesman for the NCACT.

'Kids in Windsor are a primary target of the thugs at the end of the contraband tobacco distribution chain.' — Gary Grant, NCACT spokesman

"For a second year running, this study shows that kids in Windsor are a primary target of the thugs at the end of the contraband tobacco distribution chain," Grant said.

Researchers collected butts at high schools in 10 Ontario cities but are only releasing the results one city at a time. So far, Windsor (34%), Cornwall (38%) and Ottawa (23%) are the only cities whose results have been announced.

The NCACT hired independent researchers to collect cigarette butts from public grounds outside property at seven high schools, including:

• Riverside Secondary School.
• St. Joseph's Catholic High School.
• Herman High School.
• Assumption College.
• Holy Names High School.
• Century Secondary School.
• F.J. Brennan Catholic High School

The researchers collected 1,372 butts, of which 466 were deemed illegal, meaning they did not have identifiable brand names of tax-paid cigarette brands.

Contraband cigarettes are generally much cheaper than legal ones, selling for as little as $1.00 for a pack of 20, compared with $8.00 or more for government-taxed cigarettes.

Nearly half of all cigarettes sold in Ontario are illegal, according Dave Bryans, the president of the Canadian Convenience Stores Association and NCACT board member.

"The tax losses are now approaching $2 billion each year," Bryans said. "Governments need to take deliberate, co-ordinated steps to snuff out this crime."

The province of Ontario has "many enforcement measures to discourage the sale of contraband tobacco," according to a government website. Investigators and inspectors with Ontario's Ministry of Revenue have seized about 67 million contraband cigarettes in the last two years.

On Sept. 15, Ontario Provincial Police arrested a Manitoba man after they found 910,000 unmarked cigarettes in his vehicle near Marathon, Ont.