TOBACCO SMUGGLING

That this House notes with concern that according to latest estimates the Treasury loses £2.9 billion of revenue per year due to smuggling and counterfeiting of tobacco products; further notes that the UK is the only EU member state not to have signed up to the Philip Morris Agreement with the European Commission; welcomes the ongoing progress of HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs in implementing a technological solution to prevent smuggling and counterfeiting; calls upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer to announce in his Budget Statement the introduction of the most robust and evolved technological system available which will address smuggling as well as counterfeiting; and further calls for any system to provide appropriate enforcement for the Government's policies in respect of smoking, including raising the minimum age for purchase of tobacco products from 16 to 18 years old.