The rampant smuggling and sale of black market cigarettes in Canada underscores the need for governments to step up tobacco controls, a national health organization said Monday.

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada called on Ottawa, provincial governments and First Nations governments to "restore control to the tobacco market" with new measures and tougher controls.

At a news conference in Ottawa, the group cited consumer research from 2005 indicating 10 per cent of Canadian smokers buy black market cigarettes. The purchase of illegal cigarettes is expected to rise this year.

"The problem is worst in Ontario and Quebec, where we support industry estimates that 16 per cent of smokers now buy black market cigarettes," president of PSC Dr. Atul Kapur told reporters. A cross-reference of revenue statements from government and public smoking surveys suggest tax losses to Canada were $280 million higher than the year before.

One in 10 packs illegal

Dr. Kapur, who is also an emergency physician at the Ottawa hospital, added the PSC had reviewed garbage audits "that show that one in 10 cigarette packages found on the streets are brands not legally sold in Canada."

The group wants governments to:

• Immediately commission an evaluation of the scope and nature of cigarette smuggling in Canada.
• Strip manufacturing licenses from companies that don't show they limit sales to legally operating companies.
• Restrict the supply of raw cigarette materials to legal makers only.
• Ensure federal and provincial taxes are collected at the earliest part in the manufacturing of cigarettes.
• Improve tax marking on cigarettes and implement "track and trace" monitors on shipments
• Step up controls on the shipments of raw tobacco from Ontario farms.

"Because smuggling leads to higher smoking rates, it is a significant health risk," Dr. Kapur said.

"The health of aboriginal Canadians, on whom the burden of disease is already unfairly high, are particularly harmed by the widespread availability of cheap cigarettes and weak controls over commercial tobacco in their community."

Neil Collishaw, a PSC researcher, urged more political attention on the problem.

"Despite my years of experience on this file, I was shocked to discover how easy it was to purchase illegal cigarettes," he said.

He said he bought tax-free cigarettes at the Six Nations Reserve in southwest Ontario that cost about 4.5 cents per cigarette. An average legal pack containing 25 cigarettes can go for $8.50, or 34 cents per cigarette.

The PSC is now pushing Ottawa to hasten its response to the problem by touting tobacco controls as the best way to reduce wait times.

Curbing the sale of cheap illegal tobacco will prevent smoke-related illness and allow other patients to be treated more quickly, Dr. Kapur argued.