Counterfeit cigarettes and that smoking tax

Last Saturday's arrest of three policemen who were reportedly found with $350,000 worth of counterfeit cigarettes highlights a number of issues.

First, it is indicative of the increasing ability of the JCF to police itself and hold on to those considered rogue cops. Second, it places Carreras, (the company which controls 95 per cent of the import/distribution of cigarettes and which bears the brunt of the tax imposition on cigarettes) at the mercy of those in the business of illicit importation of cigarettes and who pay absolutely no taxes.

Third, it illustrates the nature of business globally that companies operating in the Orient will manufacture and label cigarettes while, to complete the illicit chain, local contacts will surreptitiously import the contraband and sell it to a ready market in Jamaica. This is reminiscent of the illicit trade in fake-label products which came out of the Eastern European (communist bloc) countries in the 1960s and 1970s. Well known and respected products like Rolex and Omega watches were poorly copied and I can remember that on the barely policed Kingston waterfront of the late 1960s and early 1970s there were a few enterprising crooks who were selling fake watches to the unsuspecting buyer.

I know because I was one of many who bought an "Omega gold watch" which a few weeks later, left a nasty-looking green residue (indicative of copper) on my hand. Eventually, not even Eastern European time could be had on the watch.

In the matter of cigarettes, there is the illicit importation of well-known brands plus the knock-offs. Neither customs duty nor other taxes that have been levied on Carreras are paid by these importers and I have personally witnessed the trade at the point where bar owners purchase from the illicit "distributors". Once these illicit imports are in the possession of bar owners, sale on the genuine products cease until the stock is used up for the simple reason that the illicitly imported stuff is cheaper.

One assumes that the local tax regime or ad hoc levies on companies like Carreras are born out of a genuine need to see a reduction in smoking. As the reasoning goes, the more expensive the product, the less will be the sales. Unlike alcoholic beverages, an integral part of the labelling of cigarettes must state the dangers of cigarette smoking. Although the dangers of alcohol consumption beyond moderation is well known, the alcohol lobby internationally has succeeded so far in avoiding more prominenty labelling other than, "(1) According to the chief medical officer, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems. Enjoy in moderation."

Unlike cigarette labelling which is prominent, on a bottle of Jamaica's favourite, Wray and Nephew White Overproof rum which is 126 proof (63 per cent alcohol by volume), the government warning is on the back and if one is long-sighted (needing reading glasses) the typical white rum drinker is probably unaware that it exists nor could read it.

I have no problem with the reasoning behind normal taxes on cigarettes, but in a recent conversation I had with the managing director of Carreras, Richard Pandohie, he pretty much raised the same issues as he had previously related to the Observer. "We estimate that the counterfeit and contraband trade accounts for over 40 per cent of the market."

The way I see it, the government cannot apply a slash-and-burn tax regime on the company without putting into place structures to plug the loopholes on illicit imports. In other words, as Carreras has repeatedly said, for every three boxes of cigarettes sold, two are revenue to the government and one is revenue to the company. The company must be entitled to any sales which arise after the imposition of taxes.

Another way of looking at it is this. Smoking cigarettes is still legal just like consuming white rum. The government has a vested interest in keeping Carreras viable, that is, profitable. If after imposing onerous taxes on the company, for those adults who still insist that they want to smoke, it should be cigarettes on the legal market, that is, from Carreras that should be available to them for purchase and not the "bandoolo" cigarettes that now account for 40 per cent of the total market.

In fact, what the government should have done before its last levy on the company was move to plug those very loopholes or illicit importation to show equity in the system. Any temptation to make another such imposition ought to take that into consideration

I have long said that no trade in illicit drugs, no extortion operation in Jamaica can be "properly" run without the involvement of rogue cops. It could be that the seizure of a mere $350,000 worth of counterfeit cigarettes was just the tip of a much bigger operation.

That not guilty verdict on Rev Paul Lewis

LEWIS... freed of charges of sexual assault of a minor 1/1

It is indeed troubling that in the wake of the not guilty verdict where the Rev Paul Lewis was freed of charges of sexual assault of a minor, a 15-year-old girl, while it was alleged, her 14-year -old friend watched, evidence has surfaced that there was a DNA match between semen found on the girl's underwear and the Rev Lewis.

What happens after this? "Poor people licky licky. Dem can't help it," said a woman to me recently while we were in discussion over the matter. As far as I know, Rev Lewis cannot be tried again on the same charges after being freed in the courts.

We know that in the Jamaican courts, a case is only as strong as the links supporting it. If the police case is weak, it will not get very far. We also know that there are instances where the supporting links are deliberately made weak after "man an' man" meet and discussions are held and other matters are introduced into the equation.

Were it my child, it would not have happened because there is no way that I would have allowed any 15-year-old daughter of mine to travel from milepost 10 to milepost 11 with any Rev anyone. I am naturally distrustful of those who cloak themselves in the "glory of God" and then make claims of purity.

People with an interest in this matter must use the social networking sites to keep this one on the front burner. According to the website of Rev Paul Lewis, "Since an early age in the island of Jamaica, God has called him and anointed him to preach, deliver and minister through the power of the spirit. Blind eyes have been opened, deaf ears unstopped, tumours dissolved, and more, the all-salvation has come to many."

What sort of "all salvation" is there for the little girls?

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