Warning on fake cigarettes

BRITISH American Tobacco Cyprus (BAT) has warned that fake brand-cigarettes are circulating in the Cypriot marketplace, most of which are copies of well-known international brands. In a statement published in yesterday’s Politis newspaper, BAT said the products are being made illegally abroad and they do not have the quality that consumers are accustomed to. They are being imported illegally to Cyprus without the payment of duty.

Amongst the counterfeit products, which have been traced by the authorities, are brand names that fall under the British American Tobacco umbrella.

BAT Cyprus is working with the authorities to try and rid the market of this phenomenon and is cooperating to discover the origin of the cigarettes. It’s not known where the cigarettes came from and their quality is dubious. BAT say the counterfeiting is depriving the government of income and promoting criminal activity.

BAT Cyprus is warning consumers to be on the look out for counterfeit cigarettes and to contact the police and customs authorities.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.