Just over 25 per cent of cigarettes smoked outside Mill Memorial Hospital come from the unregulated tobacco black market.
This was one “disturbing” finding from a Western Convenience Stores Association (WCSA) study released today that found Terrace to be third on a list of B.C. cities with highest contraband tobacco usage.
The study method involved collecting and examining butts from 44 sites to determine what percentage of those butts were of illegal origin.
Mills Memorial Hospital was the institution with the fourth highest percentage of contraband at 25.2 per cent, and the only hospital in the top 10.
Passport Canada was top on the list of institutions at 38.8 per cent contraband of all the retrieved tobacco remains.
Vancouver had the highest overall percentage of contraband at 28.7 per cent, followed by Richmond (21.2 per cent) and Terrace (21.2 per cent).
“Illicit tobacco is sold without mandated health warnings on packages and without age-verification checks. Increased taxes, regulations and product bans drive the tobacco market underground, meaning these products are both affordable and accessible to youth,” reads the WCSA release.
