Twenty Asia-Pacific nations are set to attend the inaugural Asia-Pacific Illicit Tobacco Initiative 2024 in Singapore over the next two days.
The Australian Border Force (ABF) led initiative will enhance regional cooperation, strengthen national supply chains, increase information sharing and set the platform for future joint operations targeting the criminal networks involved in the trade.
Ken McKern, ABF Commander, said the trade is both domestic and international in scope and requires cooperation between local, state, federal, and international entities to combat.
“The trade in illicit tobacco globally diverts billions of dollars of vital tax revenue from governments – which could have been used to fund health, education and other essential community services – to criminals, funding transnational crime, corruption, and terrorism.
“The initiative will also provide further information and intelligence from our global customs partners to enable the ABF and Australian partner agencies to continue to disrupt and prosecute criminals engaged in the importation and supply of illicit tobacco in Australia.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), eliminating the illicit trade in tobacco would gain governments globally an estimated US$31.3 billion every year, and from 2030 onwards, more than 164,000 premature deaths every year would be avoided.
Erin Dale, Australia’s interim Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette (ITEC) Commissioner, said a key priority is addressing illicit tobacco at the source to prevent and deter these products from reaching Australian shores.
“International collaboration is vital for the success of Australia’s efforts to combat illicit tobacco, ensuring that our policies are understood globally. I applaud the efforts of the ABF in driving this inaugural initiative.”
Representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the People’s Republic of China, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vanuatu, and Vietnam will attend.
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