SMUGGLERS haunting the US-Canada border have scuttled the
Canadian government's policy of
levying high taxes on tobacco
products. Responding to the protests
of the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers' Council, which claims that
the flood of cheap, contraband
cigarettes from the US has ruined
businesses, Canada's federal government and that of Quebec have agreed
to cut or even abolish the taxes. The
easy availability of cigarettes is
also believed to have raised consumption.
Desperate store owners in Quebec
were selling cigarettes at C$20
($14.75) a carton, instead of at the
fully-taxed retail price of C$40.
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