Know What You're Buying? to educate adult smokers and governments on dark underbelly of "cheap cigs" 

TORONTO, May 1, 2024 /CNW/ - JTI-Macdonald, a tobacco company operating in Canada for over 150 years, today took the unprecedented step of launching Know What You're Buying?, a digital campaign targeting the explosive growth of Canada's illegal tobacco industry in its epicentre, the province of Ontario.

"I've worked in the tobacco industry for many years and I've never seen anything like this," said Elaine McKay, Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications for JTI-Macdonald (JTI). "Canadian governments are sitting on the sidelines while known criminal entities are taking over the country's cigarette industry. These crime groups are undermining years of public health efforts, costing around $2 billion of a year in lost tax revenue, making it easier for youth to start smoking and giving criminals an easy way to get rich," added McKay. "What will it take for governments to step in?"

In Ontario alone, evidence shows that one in three cigarettes smoked are illegal. Illegal cigarettes manufactured in Ontario are smuggled throughout Canada and around the world. Unfortunately, as the illegal tobacco industry has grown into a multi-billion-dollar juggernaut, Ontario has not collected a single tax dollar from them.

According to the International Coalition Against Illicit Economies, there are 173 known organized criminal groups (OCGs) involved in Canada's illegal cigarette trade.¹ Collectively, they have cost Canada around 12 billion dollars in evaded taxes, lost productivity, criminal justice, and other direct costs. At the same time, OCGs are getting rich. By some estimates, the illegal cigarette trade is eight times as profitable as drug dealing and the chances of being caught are marginal at best.²

"The message we are sending on illegal tobacco is that in Canada, crime pays," said Rick Penney, a retired Mountie and the Anti Illicit Trade Manager, EU+ Americas, for JTI. "Every time the police do make a seizure, it isn't just tobacco they are finding. They are finding wads of cash, firearms, fentanyl, meth, you name it. These are extremely dangerous people and they are making off like bandits because illegal tobacco is seen as a high profit, low risk enterprise. Police just aren't being given the resources to go after it."

Canada's laissez-faire attitude towards illegal cigarettes risks undermining decades of public policy efforts to reduce youth access to cigarettes. Illegal cigarettes are now being advertised to youth on social media sites and sold brazenly on the internet without any age checks. They do not conform to government regulations regarding packaging or labelling. And they do not use self-extinguishing paper, which is required under Canadian law.

"We are stepping in and educating the public because governments are not raising this issue enough," said Elaine McKay. "As a tobacco company, we don't expect to garner sympathy. But we do think all tax-paying businesses should take note. The government is standing by while known criminals actively undercut legal businesses by ignoring every law and regulation and by evading all taxes. This impacts Canada's reputation as a country of law and order. And if nothing is done, the entire cigarette market will go underground, outside the reach of health authorities and tax collectors," concluded McKay.

To learn more, visit https://www.knowwhatyourebuying.ca

JTI-Macdonald Corp., established in 1858, is one of Canada's oldest and leading tobacco companies, employing approximately 500 employees across the country with its headquarters in Mississauga (Ontario), manufacturing facilities in Montreal (Quebec) and sales offices across the country.

JTI-Macdonald Corp is a member of the Japan Tobacco International (JTI) group, a subsidiary of JT Inc. JTI is a leading international tobacco and vaping company, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and an international workforce of 48,000 employees. Our world-renowned brands are available in over 130 markets. We have been certified as a Top Employer in 62 countries, ranking #3 in Canada and #1 in North America in 2023.

SOURCE JTI-Macdonald Corp.