BLACK-MARKET RISK IN TOBACCO HIGHER

The major risk of growth in a tobacco black market will come from smuggling
and burglaries, the Customs Service says.

Manager of revenue fraud Noel Dravitski said any price rise in cigarettes
and tobacco created the potential for more activity in a black market.

He said the service had broken the back of illegal manufacturing in New
Zealand, after seizures of three plants in the Motueka and Nelson region in
the last 12 months.

Tobacco was not simple to manufacture and required good cutting and drying
equipment, as well as flavouring and other ingredients.

"It's not just a simple matter of growing a couple of tobacco plants in
your vegetable patch. You might like to smoke it, but I don't think many
people would," Mr Dravitski said.

The number of people growing tobacco in New Zealand had dramatically
reduced in the last three years because no-one was manufacturing it.

The other area of concern was through burglaries of cigarette stockists.