A lot of Owen Sound teen smokers are getting hooked on contraband cigarettes.
The latest study of cigarette butts collected around high schools in Ontario and Quebec suggests more and more teens are buying their smokes on the black market.
The study commissioned by the Canadian Convenience Stores Association found 30 per cent of butts gathered outside Ontario high schools were contraband — up from 26 per cent last year.
In Owen Sound, 290 cigarette butts were collected from around two high schools and analysis revealed 27 per cent of the cigarette butts collected were illegal.
Collections for the 2009 study were done around St Mary’s High School and West Hill Secondary School.
Gary Grant, spokesperson for the NCACT and retired Staff Superintendent of the Toronto Police Service, says kids — who shouldnt be smoking at all — are having no trouble getting their hands on illegal cigarettes that cost pennies a piece.
For a third year running, this study shows that youth are a primary target of those at the end of the contraband tobacco distribution chain.
Grant says the tragedy is that contraband tobacco has short-circuited all the governments anti-smoking efforts.
Taxes, health warnings, display bans, mandatory ID checks, government anti-smoking initiatives are all going up in smoke because of the wide availability of illegal cigarettes.
Contraband cigarettes are often made in illegal, unregulated factories and sold to kids out of the trunks of cars.
They are priced cheaply, often selling for a dollar for a pack of 20 cigarettes as compared to 8 dollars for government taxed cigarettes.