Text 2

Task 12. a) Read and translate the text.

UK STRATEGY TO TACKLE TOBACCO SMUGGLING

It has been 12 years since the United Kingdom (UK) launched its first strategy to tackle tobacco smuggling. This innovative approach was introduced at a time when the illicit market was growing rapidly and was predicted to increase substantially if no action was taken.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) estimates the size of the problem on an annual basis by calculating the “tax gap”. This is the difference between the tax collected and the tax that should be collected. Since 2000, the illicit market for cigarettes has reduced from 21% to 10%.

As the UK has some of the highest tobacco prices in the world, the country is a major target market for illicit products. Tobacco is therefore a top operational priority for HMRC and the UK Border Force.

Organized criminal gangs are continually diversifying and finding new ways to circumvent controls to maintain their profits. Historically, the illicit market was made up of genuine UK premium brands of cigarettes smuggled from European countries. Today, it is made up of a diverse mix of genuine and counterfeit UK brands, non-UK brands and “illicit whites” (cigarettes manufactured legitimately in one country by independent tobacco manufacturers and supplied for the purpose of being smuggled into another country).

A range of tough sanctions have been introduced to punish those involved in the illicit trade. Criminals found guilty of smuggling or handling illicit tobacco can face a variety of sanctions, including: prosecution with a custodial sentence of up to seven years; seizure of criminal cash and confiscation of assets; assessment for the unpaid duty; penalties of up to 100% of the tax evaded; fines of up to £5,000 for selling illicit tobacco not bearing a complaint fiscal mark; prohibition on the retail sale of tobacco products; travel restrictions on repeat tobacco smugglers.

To counter abuse of the European Union (EU) cross-border shopping arrangements, the minimum levels for travelers from EU have been reduced from 3,200 to 800 cigarettes.

(WCO NEWS)

b) Make a glossary. Choose seven words to remember.

c) Answer the questions:

1. What does the problem have to do with the topic of the unit?

2. What measures have been taken by the British government lately to tackle tobacco smuggling?

3. Is there any category of illicit products for which Russia is a major target market?

Task 13. a) Study the model and make sentences.

TO SUGGEST	something to somebody (a noun, e.g. a project)
	doing something
	somebody does something
	that somebody should do something

Model: I suggest going there.

I suggest we go there.

I suggest that we should go there.

b) Use the words from the text to speak about UK strategy to tackle tobacco smuggling.

to launch to introduce to calculate to find to punish to reduce

c) What can you suggest:

- to tackle the problem of drug abuse;

- to prevent smuggling/terrorism/pollution;

- to convince people give up smoking;

- to make students study properly.