From: The Star
Ontario ramps up fight against contraband tobacco
The province has shifted its focus to the farm field in its battle against contraband tobacco.
By: Richard J. Brennan Provincial Politics
The Ministry of Finance is playing follow the leaf.
It has decided the best way to combat contraband tobacco sales is to start right at the source.
Tobacco farms, which have grown exponentially in the past few years, now have to register with the ministry, as does everyone who handles the product along the way.
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Where federal and provincial authorities for years have been targeting contraband cigarettes coming into the province — much of it from unlicensed manufacturing plants in New York state — the province has shifted its gaze to the farm field.
Ministry officials said it is believed that the growth of tobacco farms is due in part to the fact that some are selling their product to underground manufacturers.
