Contraband tobacco 'skyrocketing' in northern Ontario, says convenience store lobby

A new study commissioned by alobby group for convenience store operators says 54 out of every 100 cigarettes in northern Ontario are illegal.

That numbertranslates to the highest rate of contraband tobacco in the province.

The report, done for the Ontario Convenience Stores Association, used a companyWrightOn Field Marketing to survey23 different communities across the province.

Representatives picked up close to20,000 discarded cigarette buttsand had them analyzed.

"This is a very unscientific study," admitted DaveBryans, the CEO of the association, but said the grouphave a very precise catalogue that researchers can use to identify what they find.

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Similar studies commissioned on behalf of convenience stores a common retailer of cigarettes have also been carried out in other provinces.In Ontario, Bryans said, they've been doing these studies for seven years.

Contraband tobacco refers to cigarettes that do not meet various federal and provincial regulations surrounding taxation, packaging and distribution, according to the Ontario Convenience Stores Association.

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"I believe the north is having an epidemic issue when it comes to contraband. A lot of this can be attributed to the economy," Bryans said.

An illegal cigarette carton can cost as little as $15 to $37, compared to $100 if bought legally, he added, saying that the situation is "out of control."

Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay rank highest in province for contraband

While the organization's method to determine the proliferation of illegal tobacco may be "unscientific," Bryans said it points to an issue, not just facing convenience stores, but society as a whole.

"[The RCMP] has also declared there's over 175 organized gangs involved in the sale in distribution of contraband tobacco in the province of Ontario," he said.

Sault Ste Marie and North Bay topped the list of municipalities in Ontario.Those two communities had the highest rates of illegal cigarette use, with 91 per cent of butts collected from one Sault mall determined to be illegal, according to the report.

At ahigh school in North Bay, 83 per cent of discarded butts collected were found to be contraband.

A 2012 study by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation estimatedOntario loses at least $689 million in tax revenue from the contraband tobacco trade each year.