Illegal cigarettes are freely sold in the markets

Although the fight against tobacco product smuggling in Uzbekistan has significantly intensified in recent months, illegal cigarettes are still freely sold in markets and on the streets. This was reported by Zamin.uz.

This situation is causing great concern among the public. Law enforcement agencies have announced that they have seized several large consignments of smuggled goods in recent weeks.

For example, in the Fergana Valley, the share of illegal products has reached 22 percent, causing significant damage to the state budget. Over the past seven months, this damage amounted to approximately 286 billion soums, of which more than 115 billion soums correspond specifically to the Fergana Valley.

Officials emphasize that among the illegal products, the most widespread is the "Milano" brand produced in the Jebel Ali zone of the United Arab Emirates. These cigarettes lack medical warnings, which is contrary to Uzbekistan's technical regulations.

During a raid conducted in Namangan region, more than 11,000 packs, including cigarettes of the "Milano" and "Esse Change" brands as well as hundreds of electronic tobacco devices, were confiscated. Their total value exceeds 215 million soums.

Additionally, thousands of packs were seized in the Samarkand and Tashkent regions. According to reports from Tashkent State University of Economics, the share of illegal tobacco products in the capital increased from 7 percent to 11.8 percent within one month.

The most dangerous aspect is that there is a significant discrepancy between the indicated substance amounts and the actual composition in the smuggled cigarettes. For example, the "Milano London" pack indicates 1 milligram of tar and 0.1 milligrams of nicotine, while laboratory tests revealed these figures to be 3.1 milligrams and 0.2 milligrams respectively.

For the "Oris Fusion Mint" brand, these figures differed by a factor of two. Experts believe that such a situation seriously harms not only human health but also the entire economy.

Therefore, it is necessary not only to conduct raids and confiscations but also to completely close smuggling routes, cleanse markets of illegal products, and establish a coordinated systematic fight among all authorized agencies. This information was taken from the Zamin.uz website.