Over one million illegal cigarettes were seized in the last 18 months by Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service, the council said on Wednesday (19).
About 1,008,660 cigarettes (or 50,433 packets of 20) that were either counterfeit or non-duty paid were seized by Trading Standards Officers following raids on suspected shops across Warwickshire. Officers also seized nearly 300kg of illegal hand rolling tobacco (5773 packets).
In total Officers estimate that had these products been genuine they would have sold for £778,000 (with a value as illegal products of £320,000).
Trading Standards Officers have been acting on the concerns over the availability of illegal vapes and in the last year have seized 10100, depriving the sellers of an income of £120,000.
Officers have also been working with the landlords of "problem shops" to get the sellers evicted.
Jonathon Toy, Service Manager Trading Standards and Community Safety said: “Whilst I am shocked by the sheer number of illegal cigarettes this service has seized in such a short period of time, I’m delighted that we are protecting the health of Warwickshire residents while we continue to disrupt the sale of these products and deprive their sellers and the organised crime groups they work for, of significant sums of money.”
“The availability of illegal cigarettes, often sold at pocket money prices makes it easier for children to start smoking and get hooked and more difficult for existing smokers to quit their habit. We also know that sellers have strong links with criminal gangs and the money they make may end up supporting drug dealing, money laundering and people trafficking.”
All illegal products seized are destroyed once any legal proceedings are concluded.
Sugro UK, the member-owned buying and marketing group, once again hosted its annual overseas Business Convention. This year it was held in numerous locations throughout India.
This highly successful event marked another milestone for the Group, delivering substantial incremental growth with almost 10 million cases purchased during a three-month incentive period, benefiting both Members and Supply Partners alike.
The convention brought together over 80 Members and Suppliers for a mix of formal and informal oneto-one business sessions, fostering strong networking opportunities and bolstering the marketplace. Feedback from attendees highlighted the exceptional value of face-to-face interaction, emphasising how these events continue to strengthen the Sugro ‘Family’ dynamic.
Beyond business discussions, Sugro UK extended its impact through a meaningful charitable initiative tied to the location of this year’s convention. As part of its commitment to giving back to the communities hosting their events, Sugro UK, alongside Supply Partners—Red Bull, Suntory Beverages, Britvic and AG Barr—made a significant donation to support the CSR Project Jaisalmer.
The project will help renovate the Government Upper Primary School in Jaisalmer, which has been neglected by authorities for many years and lacks basic sanitary facilities. Established in 1964, the school serves 100 pupils, who urgently need improved conditions.
Sugro’s donation will directly support the renovation of sanitation facilities for both boys and girls, ensuring a healthier and more dignified learning environment for the children. This project will make a massive different for all pupils, but for the girls, in particular, whose school attendance rates significantly drops due to period poverty (According to Dasra, 23 million girls drop out of school every year in India due to a lack of menstrual hygiene management facilities in schools).
Emma Senior, Managing Director at Sugro UK, commented, “This was a record year of attendees for the Sugro Convention and the feedback from members and suppliers alike has been incredible. It was fantastic to see so many new faces, with some suppliers attending for the first time.
My personal highlight was cutting the ribbon on the toilets in the Jaisalmer school. We had a resounding welcome from the children, their teachers and the leaders from the town. Their appreciation was certainly felt by all of us.”
Yulia Petitt, Head of Commercial & Marketing added: “Sugro has had 18 consecutive years of growth and continue with its strong performance in 2024 with the year-to-date growth of +15% compared with the same period in 2023. With some excellent business opportunities being discussed between Members and Suppliers during the convention trip, there is no doubt that the Group will continue with its remarkable performance this year.
"As always, the convention trip was delivered with very high standards and some fantastic feedback from our Members and Suppliers. It was great to see how the event once again brought the Sugro ‘Family’ together, this time in the incredible setting of India.”
Looking ahead, Sugro UK is committed to hosting more successful events both locally and internationally. With its continued focus on business excellence and charitable initiatives, Sugro will keep supporting its Members and Supply Partners while driving growth, innovation, and community impact in the wholesale sector.
An exciting new rewards initiative launched by Allwyn – called “Share the Win” – is transforming National Lottery retailers into winners, simply by them selling a high value winning ticket or Scratchcard.
The new ‘Share the Win’ initiative is putting a range of prizes up for grabs for National Lottery retailers who sell high tier (£50,000 or more) winning draw-based games tickets – such as EuroMillions, Lotto, and Thunderball – or National Lottery Scratchcards. The scheme is open to all retailers where the winning ticketholder is happy to share details of their win.
The amount awarded to the National Lottery retailer will be linked to the size of the player’s win and celebrated with new in-store activation kit – including a special “Big Winner Made Here” poster and wall plaque, and for gold tier winners, a gold "Millionaire Made Here" Playstation.
There are three tiers of prizes available to retailers through the new initiative:
Gold tier - wins of more than £1m will net lucky retailers the top prize of £10,000
Silver tier - wins between £251,000 and £1m will be worth £5,000 to shop owners
Bronze tier - wins between £50,000 and £250,000 will see retailers pocket £2,000
The first winner to net a fantastic Share the Win prize has been unveiled as Drummond Miller, owner of Keystore in Dalkeith, Scotland, who has scooped the £5,000 silver tier prize for selling a winning National Lottery Thunderball ticket worth £500,000 to Raymond Young.
“Huge congratulations to Drummond for becoming our first ever Share the Win winner,” said Allwyn's Interim Retail Director, James Dunbar. “With this initiative, we are multiplying the joy of winning on The National Lottery by taking a player’s magnificent win and then rewarding the retailer who sold them their winning ticket. It adds a whole new dimension to selling National Lottery tickets for our retail partners, because simply selling a single lucky ticket could land them an incredible prize themselves. They’ll be able to then share in the amazing feeling of winning on The National Lottery!
“And this initiative not only rewards retailers for helping us to make huge National Lottery winners, but also for helping us to raise around £30 million each and every week for National Lottery-funded projects.”
Drummond Miller said: "Just as Christmas approaches, it is fantastic to find out that I’m the first retailer in the UK to win this amazing initiative. The £5,000 prize will bring some extra gold to the staff Christmas bonuses and early festive cheer to the shop, this year. The National Lottery has always driven extra traffic to Keystore, so this is more wonderful news for us and for all my potential future winners."
Raymond Young, who bought his winning National Lottery Thunderball ticket in Keystore (known locally as Fordel Services), said: “I’m chuffed to bits to see my local store win because of my luck. It was great to win and hopefully the lucky store can spread a little of my fortune through the local community.”
National Lottery retailers can head to the National Lottery Retailer Hub to ensure they're opted in to receive email communications, so they don't miss out on this exciting opportunity.
The government has on Friday published a policy update on recycling, introducing significant changes for businesses to streamline recycling practices and improve sustainability. Effective by 31 March 2025, these reforms set new standards for waste collection across England, aiming to create a consistent system that benefits the environment and reduces confusion.
Businesses and non-domestic premises, including schools and hospitals, must arrange for the collection of the following recyclable waste streams:
Glass such as drinks bottles and rinsed empty food jars
Metal such as drinks cans and food tins, empty aerosols, aluminium foil, aluminium food trays and tubes
Plastic such as rinsed empty food containers and bottles
Paper such as old newspapers and envelopes
Cardboard such as delivery boxes and packaging
Food leftovers or waste generated by food preparation
Businesses with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees (micro-firms) are exempt from these requirements until 31 March 2027.
Environmental charity WRAP has published a guide for the retail and wholesale sector, available here, to help implement recycling in the workplace.
Claire Shrewsbury, director of insights and innovation at WRAP, termed the incoming requirements on business recycling as a “hugely important step.”
“There are enormous environmental and financial gains to be realised by encouraging the 2.2 million business in England to separate food and recyclables from refuse. The two-year delay for micro-sized businesses will give smaller businesses more time to implement recycling into smaller or shared premises,” Shrewsbury said.
“WRAP is working with Defra and industry to develop new support tools and guidance to help all businesses with the transition. We will continue to work with trade bodies and local authorities to make transition as seamless as possible through our tools, technical support, and resources,” she added.
Footfall took a "disappointing tumble" in November, shows recent industry data, as retailers remain hopeful that the Black Friday and Christmas sales will help to turn things around for good.
According to BRC-Sensormatic data, total UK footfall decreased by 4.5 per cent in November (YoY), down from -1.1per cent in October. High Street footfall decreased by 3.7 per cent in November (YoY), down from -3.6 per cent in October.
Retail Park footfall decreased by 1.1 per cent in November (YoY), down from +4.8 per cent in October. Shopping Centre footfall decreased by 6.1 per cent in November (YoY), down from -1.6 per cent in October.
Footfall decreased year-on-year for all four nations, with Northern Ireland falling by 2.8 per cent, England by 4.2 per cent, Scotland by 6.8 per cent, while Wales experienced the biggest decline at 7.1 per cent.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said, "Footfall took a disappointing tumble in November, as a later-than-usual Black Friday and low consumer confidence meant customers were hesitant to hit the shops. Some northern cities also suffered particularly badly due to Storm Bert, which caused travel disruption towards the end of the month.
"Retailers remain hopeful that the Black Friday and Christmas sales will help to turn around the declining footfall seen through most of 2024, crucial as we enter the “golden quarter”.
"Retail not only contributes to the economy of local areas but is essential to everyday life in communities across the country. New costs bearing down on retailers in 2025, including from rises in Employer National Insurance, National Living Wage, and packaging taxes, means investment in jobs, stores, and high streets will likely be curtailed.
"If the Government wishes to bolster footfall and the growth and investment that would come with it, it must help retailers mitigate the impact of the £7 billion additional costs they face from next year.”
Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic, commented, "Retail store visits dipped in November as consumer confidence remains volatile, perhaps not helped by post-Budget spending jitters and shoppers withholding festive purchases, opting instead to shop around for the best prices or hold out for further discounting.
"This lacklustre footfall performance will have come as a blow for many retailers, who would have been counting on getting early Christmas trading results under their belts before the start of advent.
"However, it’s worth noting that these figures do not include Black Friday and the Saturday of the Black Friday weekend - tipped as one of the top busiest days for store shopping during peak trading - which will hopefully jump start seasonal shopping. Now, all eyes turn to December, where retailers hope to make up for lost ground and turn around their festive fortunes.
"This will rely not only on effective merchandising and shored up inventory availability, but on building the compelling and immersive experiences that bring the seasonal magic to life in-store.”
More than nine in 10 independent retailers have said that the government’s proposed generational smoking ban and a ban on disposable vapes will fuel demand for illicit products even further, a survey of members of the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) has shown.
Seventy-eight per cent of respondents said more of their customers than ever were buying illicit tobacco and vapes from other sources and just over half (55 per cent) were aware of specific places near their shops where illegal products were on sale.
However, only 33 per cent said they had reported people peddling illicit tobacco to the authorities, with two thirds (67 per cent) said they had not. Nearly eight in 10 (77 per cent) said Trading Standards were not doing enough to tackle the problem in their area.
Nearly 400 retailers participated in the survey, which ran over 10 days during November, to help the Fed to better understand the impact that sales of illicit tobacco have on members’ stores and how the introduction of the generational smoking ban, which bans the sale of tobacco products across the UK to anyone aged 15 or younger, will fuel this black market.
Commenting on the results, the Fed’s National President Mo Razzaq said, “The government’s plan to stop young people smoking and vaping may look good on paper and in headlines but as our survey shows it will have serious impacts on legitimate traders.
“Just like shoplifting, selling counterfeit and non-duty tobacco is not a victimless crime. It damages legitimate retail businesses and communities. The people who peddle illegal tobacco couldn’t care less whether the customer is 18 or over. They just want the profit.”
Fed National President Mo Razzaq
Fed National President Mo Razzaq
Razzaq continued, “To make matters worse, the illicit tobacco market is often linked to organised crime, with the profits used to fund the smuggling of weapons, drugs – and even people.
“Making it an offence for anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, to be sold tobacco and banning the sale of single use vapes in legitimate retail outlets will mean the governments of the four nations are simply handing a blank cheque to rogue dealers on social media, street corners and by school gates.
"The legislation will impact on visible traders rather than the less visible ones who trade on a larger scale.”
The Fed released the findings of its survey in the week that the Tobacco and Vaping Bill returned to parliament for its second reading.