Ontario Convenience Stores Lose Sales to Contraband Cigarettes

Ontario convenience stores are having trouble making ends meet these days and the culprit isn’t the economy—it’s contraband tobacco, MyKawartha.com reports. “It’s a very sad situation and there’s a lot of stress created,” said Laura Stokan, who, along with her husband, has owned Neighbourhood Discount Milk for 22 years. She points to illegal tobacco as the reason behind falling sales. Dave Bryans, president of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association, said more than 3,000 of Ontario’s 10,000 convenience retailers will shutter their stores by 2015 unless the province tackles contraband cigarette sales. “Contraband sales affect the traffic and customer count every day in our stores. Fifty percent of all smokers don’t make their daily purchase in our stores anymore nor do they buy impulse items such as lottery tickets, chips, pop and candy bars,” said Bryans. Stokan traces lower store sales back to federal and Ontario governments raising cigarette taxes eight years ago. “Nicotine is an addiction. Little do they (politicians) know, smokers look somewhere else to get cheaper smokes,” she said. Based on recommendations by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce has requested the provincial and federal governments to take steps to curb the increasing contraband cigarette trouble. The chamber seeks more enforcement of current laws and more cooperation between federal, provincial and local governments. The chamber also recommends bringing in First Nation tribes to stop illegal tobacco sales on reservations. The Canadian Convenience Store Association cites a 25 percent decline in profits for convenience stores that can be directly linked to contraband tobacco.