TOBACCO smuggling is affecting the livelihood of legitimate businesses.
That is the claim after research was carried out by the Tobacco Alliance, which represents 26,000 independent retailers in the UK and is funded by the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association.
It claimed that at least 1,000 jobs had been lost across the UK in the past year and the situation is expected to get worse.
Most of the respondents (58pc) blamed tobacco smuggling as the main cause of sales losses.
North of England spokesman Barrie Taylor said: "The results show that tobacco sales in the region are decreasing - not because of people smoking less but because of the increase in tobacco smuggling."
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article