The local cigarette and liquor markets have been hit hard, financially and otherwise, by counterfeiters and illicit trading, prompting stakeholders in those industries to appeal for greater vigilance and stronger enforcement of legislation.

Statistics provided by Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) President Phillip Ramson showed that the illicit trade in alcohol takes away between $1 billion and $2 billion in tax revenue from the country each year. At the same time, the illicit trade in cigarettes funnels between $1.6 billion and $2 billion in tax revenue into the wrong hands.

Manuel Ruiz, head of trade at Carreras Limited, said that research focusing on the tobacco industry in Jamaica shows that one in every three cigarettes consumed comes from an illicit source.

According to Ruiz, businesses have a big responsibility to ensure they have adequate stock and that they service the market and meet demand to prevent gaps being created for people in the illicit trade to creep in.

“One in every three cigarettes consumed, that is huge. We are talking about the organised crime implications, the loss of Government revenue but also the impact that it has on consumers who gravitate towards these cheap offers that are widely available in the market,” Ruiz told the audience at Wednesday’s anti-illicit trade forum at AC Marriot Hotel in St Andrew staged by the JCC.

He said that the illicit trading has been growing across the island but pinpointed St Thomas, Kingston and St Andrew, Clarendon, and Manchester as the parishes flooded with illegally imported cigarettes.

“They have they highest incidence of illicit brands. We have seen a sophistication of these brands. They went from seven brands to 17 brands that are available in the market and highly recognised by consumers. Unfortunately, they have also managed to trick retailers to believe these brands are legal,” Ruiz said.

“They use certain elements of the law in the packaging, for example in their communication and advertisements and they go to the retailers to tell them that it is a legal brand because it has health warnings, etcetera that are required by law, but they don’t have everything; for example, manufacturing date,” Ruiz said.

“Those are very technical issues that not everyone knows about. We have seen a growth of that. We have seen consumers also demanding cheaper options. We have also adapted to that. There is a legitimate demand from consumers,” he added.

Ruiz stated that to properly tackle the problem will require collaboration with stakeholders.

“We ourselves cannot do it commercially. The Jamaica Customs Agency and the Jamaica Constabulary Force have done a fantastic job so far with seizures last year and this year, which have impacted our business directly. I think that more collaboration, stricter penalties is the first step. This is a very good forum to start this network to raise awareness in society and to ensure enforcement agencies are well-funded and that the penalties are there,” Ruiz said.

Another panellist, Christopher Gentles of Spirits Pool Association, praised the JCC for putting on the seminar as, according to him, Jamaica has a huge challenge with illicit alcohol.

He shared that the category of liquor that is most pervasively misrepresented is white overproof rum because “most Jamaicans love a tot” of the popular product.

“We use it for hair, medicine, everything. You will find that you have four popular distillery owners and they all have the issue with ‘bend down’ rum. You would go to a country bar and there is that rum that somebody reaches for frequently out of an unlabelled bottle. For Christ’s sake, don’t touch it,” he pleaded.

“Some of the alcohol is stolen, but some are more dangerously produced in garage stills and illicit stills. In Jamaica there are many stills but the laws have not caught up,” he said, adding that the penalty for running an illegal distillery is somewhere in the region of $20,000.

While white rum accounts for a huge bulk of illicit alcohol on the local market, Gentles said counterfeit top-shelf liquor is also widely sold.

“Within Jamaica, we are having too many illegal products. If you get suspicious, take action and go and buy another product. The misrepresentation of Jamaican rum is pervasive and one of the areas in which Government can assist is to modernise a very simple programme that we have. The Government earns a significant amount of revenue from taxes and at every establishment it says they intend to apply [for spirits licence]. Some of these guys have been intending to apply for 25 years,” Gentles pointed out.

“We have to give that legislation meat. In the age of non-communicable diseases the issue of common sense in legislation and bureaucracy is very important. What we are saying is this, the Jamaica rum industry wants you to enjoy alcohol. The Ministry of Health has a very well-intentioned programme but if you drive the tax on rum so high what you do is give the illegal producers a bigger platform. We have seen that with tobacco.”