Contraband tobacco is displayed at a news conference where the Canada Border Services Agency announced it would begin using sniffer dogs to combat the illegal cigarette trade. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)The Canadian government says it's ratcheting up its efforts to combat contraband smokes.

Federal officials announced a series of new initiatives Friday on the heels of a lashing from advocacy groups that say they haven't done enough to stop cigarette smuggling.

Those measures include creating an RCMP-led unit dedicated to fighting contraband tobacco.

The Canada Border Services Agency is also establishing a sniffer-dog team in Montreal and Vancouver, areas that have the highest contraband activity.

There will also be an advertising campaign to raise awareness of the impact of buying illegal cigarettes.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says the additional efforts should help stem the flow of contraband.

Earlier this week, the federal government was given a thumbs-down for its efforts by the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco.

The advocacy group said the government has failed to keep illegal cigarettes out of the hands of youth and failed to educate people about the impact of the illicit tobacco trade.

Cigarette smuggling is often linked to financing organized crime, which uses the profits in the drug and weapons trade.

Police make more seizures

But police say the numbers show that they are seizing more and more illegal smokes.

Contraband cigarettes seized near Cornwall, Ont., last November are shown in this handout photo. (RCMP/Canadian Press)According to 2009 RCMP statistics, 975,000 cartons of illegal cigarettes were seized across the country, up slightly from 965,000 cartons in 2008.

The anti-contraband coalition said that the illegal cigarette trade, which makes up about a third of the Canadian market, costs about $2.4 billion a year in lost taxes.

The initiatives announced Friday will be funded from the $20 million set aside by the minister of national revenue to combat contraband — money from a lucrative July 2008 settlement with Imperial Tobacco and Rothmans Benson & Hedges which admitted to aiding smuggling operations.

The initiatives are in addition to a task force on illegal cigarettes created in May 2008 and a recent agreement with the U.S. to keep a closer watch on shared waterways.