
Cigarette
Counterfeit cigarettes that are on sale in Sussex contain abnormally high levels of cancer-causing chemicals has been revealed.
Today it has been found that some brands in question had as much as eight times more lead as normal cigarettes.
Hastings MP Amber Rudd said that many people are not aware of the dangers posed by the counterfeit brands smuggled into the country.
A pro-smoking group said the high level of taxation on legal cigarettes is what is driving the illegal trade.
This follows a BBC investigation in October into the illegal cigarette trade in Hastings and St Leonards.
Undercover reporters found packets desgined to look like well-known brands being sold for £2 to £3, less than half of the average UK price of legal brands.
Some of the packets in question were sent to a tobacco testing laboratory; One brand had eight times as much lead as normal cigarettes.
All contained higher levels of cadmium, which can severely damage the lungs and is linked with kidney disease.
Robert West, Director of Tobacco Studies at University College London, said the fake cigarettes tested contained "high levels of toxic heavy metals". "Heavy metals of this kind, like lead for example, accumulate in the body and the body finds it hard to get rid of these".
Tuesday January 31st 2012
The Onlines