CORNER shops in Hull are being forced to close due to illegal tobacco smuggling.
About 15 per cent of newsagents in the region are under threat due to lost sales from tobacco smuggling and cross-border shopping, according to a study carried out by the Tobacco Retailers' Alliance (TRA).
The figure has almost doubled from last year, when results showed eight per cent of small shops were losing revenue due to the crimes.
About 30 per cent of corner shops' revenue is made through the sale of cigarettes and tobacco.
Samantha Coldbeck, a Hull shopkeeper and the Yorkshire and the Humber spokeswoman for the TRA, said: "These results show that tobacco smuggling is not only a threat to the livelihoods of independent retailers but one that continues to worsen.
"The high levels of tax on tobacco mean that a smuggler selling at half the price I charge will make more money selling his tobacco here than almost anywhere else in the EU.
"The Government needs to allow tax levels in the other member countries to catch up with those in the UK so that smugglers do not see the UK as the most profitable place to ply their illegal trade."
The latest survey also found that 37 per cent of corner shop owners have considered reducing staff due to lost sales from tobacco smuggling and cross-border shopping, up from 26 per cent in last year.
David Hooper, external affairs manager for Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce, said: "Small retailers play an invaluable role in our towns and communities and we would encourage Government agencies to do all in their power to tackle illegal activity such as cross-border smuggling."
As previously reported by the Mail, newsagents in the city are backing calls for tougher penalties for criminals who smuggle illicit cigarettes and tobacco into the country as they fight to survive because of black markets.
The EU is now currently considering whether to ban ranges of tobacco products from retailers' shelves including packs of cigarettes under 20, packs of loose tobacco under 40g, menthol cigarettes and 'slim' cigarettes, as well as dramatically increasing the size of health warnings.
Ms Coldbeck, who co-owns Wharfedale Premier convenience store in Southcoates Lane, said the proposals could heighten the problem even further.
"If the EU bans these products, it will play in to the hands of the smugglers who will happily be able to provide them to anyone that wishes, no matter what their age," she said.
"This will affect the livelihoods of independent retailers across the UK and ensure that the criminal activity of tobacco smuggling blights our communities for years to come."
The TMA launched a national campaign earlier in the year to try to force the hand of the Government to introduce harsher penalties for smugglers.
The association has vowed to continue to work with trading standards, the UK Border Agency and police to tackle the problem, which retailers in the city admit is heightened because of the busy Port of Hull.
• Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
