One in three cigarettes smoked in Dundalk is contraband, according to new figures released by Japan Tobacco International (JTI).
JTI are one of four big players in the Irish cigarette market, along with Imperial Tobacco, British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International.
Together they are set to fund a new “Codentify” system which will track cigarette packets from their production base to the end user in an effort to cut down on the amount of illegal tobacco smuggled into Ireland – something which costs the State an estimated €240m in lost revenue a year.
It will allow Customs officers armed with smart phone apps to immediately tell the difference between products destined to be legally sold on the Irish market and contraband.
Alec Ellis, a spokesman for JTI, said the system is already in use in Switzerland and the tobacco-producing companies supplying Ireland were anxious to introduce it here.
Mr Ellis identified Dundalk, Drogheda, Dublin, Tralee and Cork as areas where more than 30% of cigarettes were illegal – all well above the national average of around 13%.
