Thousands of jobs lost due to smuggling of contraband cigarettes

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The Tobacco Industry of Southern Africa says at least 15-thousand jobs have been lost over the last 10 years due to the smuggling of contraband cigarettes.

TISA chairperson Francois van der Merwe says the illegal trade of cigarettes is crippling the industry, as these cigarettes are sold at lower prices than the legal product.

He says the industry generates more than R10b annually in South Africa, and more than R4b rand is lost due to sales of the smuggled product.