Rishi Sunak warned key plan risks opening ￡3bn window for criminal gangs (Image: Getty)

       Rishi Sunak’s plans to phase out smoking in the UK risks nearly ￡3 billion falling into criminal hands, representatives of the tobacco industry have warned.

       They claim Britain is already blighted by a black market in tobacco products, with more than 27 million illicit cigarettes seized in the last two years.

       Critics of Rishi Sunak's plan eventually to ban smoking point to the boom in cigarette smuggling in South Africa when legal sales were banned for five months in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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       An estimated 93 per cent of smokers bought cigarettes from illegal sellers.

       Oliver Kutz of Imperial Brands – which includes well-known tobacco names such as John Player Special, Davidoff and Gauloises – said: “It is clear from looking at what happened in South Africa that banning people from being able to buy cigarettes legally won’t stop them smoking – but instead lead to a booming illicit market."

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       "This analysis suggests that billions every year will be redirected away from the Treasury and into the hands of those exploiting this rushed legislation."

       “The Prime Minister’s plan for a smoke-free Britain comes from a well-meaning place but if it only serves to boost organised crime, slashes tax revenue to the government and doesn’t actually stop people smoking, then it has to be discarded as unworkable.”

       New Zealand’s new government last month announced it is ditching a policy which would have stopped anyone born post-2008 from legally buying a cigarette. Under the UK plans, it will be an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after January 1.

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