Is Bhutan’s tobacco ban going the US prohibition way?

11 December, 2008 - Within 2008, cigarettes worth Nu 1.3 million were confiscated, according to officials from the regional revenue and customs office (RRCO) in Phuentsholing, which is the highest seizure since the ban on sale of tobacco products in 2004.The value was calculated based on market value and the retail price.
The latest consignment was confiscated on December 4 from a truck. Officials seized cigarettes worth Nu 22,000.
“We were suspicious and followed the truck, where it was parked in a workshop, and found the item,” said Dorji Khandu, a customs inspector.
The driver of the truck confessed that the contraband belong to him.
“This is my first time trying to smuggle and I’ve failed,” he said.
Seizures picked up some time in June this year, with effective mobile duty and inspection, according to the joint commissioner, Phuenthsoling RRCO, Wangchuk Thayey.
According to him, smuggling of cigarettes could not be stopped because suppliers from Jaigaon and buyers in Thimphu had their own ways and means.
“Our sources say that buyers don’t come to Phuentsholing and, if the product is confiscated, there’s no risk for the buyer. However it isn’t confirmed,” said the joint commissioner.
It is said that if cigarettes get through and reach Thimphu, the profit is shared between the buyer in Thimphu and the supplier, while the drivers are paid carrying commissions.
According to sources, most cigarette smugglers were vegetable vendors and truck drivers, while the biggest demand came from Thimphu.