Contraband Tobacco

Federal government files civil lawsuit against RJR and the CTMC to recover smuggling damages

On Dec. 21st, 1999, the Canadian federal government announced that it had filed a civil suit in the United States against RJR-Macdonald, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco (the former U.S. parent company) and the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers’ Council (CTMC). The government’s statement of claim, is available on the website of the Tobacco Control Resource Center. See also the government...

Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and the Smuggling of Cigarettes into Canada

“There have been modest tax increases at the federal and provincial levels since the tax rollbacks of February 1994 that resulted in significantly lower retail prices in the major provinces of Eastern Canada. These rollbacks have been very effective in bringing about the virtual elimination of international smuggling of tobacco products into Canada from...

Stunning Montréal Gazette / ICIJ series on links between organized crime and cigarette industry

March 3rd-6th, 2001 — Stunning Montréal Gazette / ICIJ series on links between organized crime and cigarette industry The mob and big tobacco, Montréal Gazette, March 3rd, 2001. Investigative journalist Bill Marsden and his colleagues from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists provide a fascinating overview on the links between organized crime and some of the...

Canadian health groups file complaint about RCMP failure to prosecute industry executives

February 7, 2001 Ms. Shirley Heafey Chair Commission for Public Complaints against the R.C.M.P. 60 Queen Street, 3rd floor Ottawa, ON K1P 5Y7 Dear Ms. Heafey: Please accept this letter as a complaint to the RCMP Public Complaints Commission regarding the conduct by the RCMP of its investigations into the smuggling of cigarettes into Canada in the early 1990s. Our complaint stems...

What do we know about the smuggling of cigarettes into Canada?

1. We have the testimony of former RJR-Macdonald executive Les Thompson, and we know details of federal allegations regarding the role of RJR-Macdonald, US-based R.J. Reynolds, and the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers’ Council. There are media reports of criminal investigations. “Tobacco insider talks : Major firms were deeply involved in cross-border smuggling, former executive says,” and sidebar, Montreal Gazette,...

Revelations about British American Tobaccco and smuggling

On Jan. 31st, 2000, the prestigious English daily The Guardian, in co-operation with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, published a major exposé on British American Tobacco (BAT) and cigarette smuggling in numerous countries. This exposé, the fruits of many months of work by a team of investigative journalists, is available on the Internet, along...