Sniffer dog to assist with new campaign discovering illegal tobacco in Aylesbury

Bucks Council has announced a new campaign to discover the sale of illegal tobacco throughout the county.

In Aylesbury, council officials, alongside Trading Standards staff, and a sniffer dog will be engaging with the public.

It is one of two days of action confirmed by the local authority, participants will be situated at High Wycombe Market between 9am – 3:30pm on Tuesday (22 August), and Market Square in Aylesbury the following day from 9am to 2pm.

Pippa will be on hand to demonstrate her skills at sniffing out illegal tobacco at both roadshows.

Bucks Council has launched to campaign to address concerns people may have about how Illegal tobacco can affect the health of children.

Among the contraband the local authority is hoping to wipe out is cigarettes with no legal market in the UK, often from Eastern Europe, these can colloquially be referred to as ‘cheap whites’.

Also, UK cigarettes that have been smuggled into the country illegally or counterfeit products resembling the real thing.

Council intelligence suggests that the supply of illegal tobacco is often linked to criminals who are committing other crimes. A Bucks Council spokesperson said: “These illegal products are then sold in our communities through private houses, ‘under the counter’ in shops, pubs and clubs, through social media and even on the street or by ice cream vans.”

It is believed that illegal tobacco trade makes it easier for children to access cigarettes and start smoking. As well as offering an easier route for those addicted to keep smoking and inhale more.

Viewers of the sessions should gain a better understanding of how to spot illegal tobacco, and the sessions will offer an explainer as to what the risk and dangers are, and how to report sales. The teams also welcome anonymous tips and offer guidance on where local support is available to help people stop smoking.

Pippa’s handler said: “Pippa is an ex-rescue dog and has found millions of pounds worth of illegal cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco in locations across the UK. Stashes are often hidden behind fake walls or in unusual locations secured by electro-magnets and operated by remote control devices, so Pippa and her talents are essential to the investigative team.”

An explainer on how to spot illegal tobacco has also been published on the council’s website here.

Councillor Angela Macpherson added: “All tobacco is harmful, but illegal tobacco poses an additional threat to our children and communities.

“Far from being a victimless crime, the illegal tobacco trade makes it easier for children to start smoking, takes advantage of cash-strapped families, and helps fund low-level and large-scale organised crime. People selling cheap, illegal tobacco at pocket-money prices are likely to be selling other things illegally (drugs, fake branded goods and alcohol etc), exposing Buckinghamshire’s children to even more dangers.“Not only does smoking remain one of the UK’s biggest causes of premature death but we also know that the availability of cheap, illegal tobacco helps recruit the next generation of smokers and undermines initiatives to help adults quit smoking.”