Tobacco lost to smuggling, survey shows
Government data show that significant amounts of tobacco are being smuggled out of the country each year, health and economics experts said yesterday. A national tobacco survey from 2011, the exact numbers of which remain confidential, shows that more tobacco is produced in Cambodia than is consumed, and much of the difference comes from smuggling rather than legal exports, said World Health Organization’s tobacco economics unit head Dr Ayda Yurekli at a press conference yesterday. Yurekli and Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEASTCA) representatives at the conference also repeated their call of the previous day that Cambodia and other low-tax neighbours like Laos increase tobacco taxes by more than than 10 per cent to have a significant impact on public health. …
