EDMONTON– Alberta Crime Stoppers, the Alberta RCMP, and Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, are uniting for an illicit tobacco awareness campaign, the group announced at a news conference on Tuesday. The campaign will be designed to help the public recognize and identify illicit tobacco, but it is also aimed at a deeper issue behind its sale. "Illicit tobacco is often misunderstood as a low-level issue, but is frequently linked to organized crime and broader community harm," said Vivianna Botticelli, Interim board chair for AB Crime Stoppers."This campaign is about helping Albertans understand that the price tag isn't the real cost, and reminding the public that Crime Stoppers provides a safe, anonymous way to report suspicious activity."Illicit tobacco includes cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, and other products that do not comply with federal and provincial laws regarding importation, labelling, manufacturing, stamping and payment of duties and taxes..Any easy way for individuals to identify illicit tobacco is the lack of labelling on the container, such as a red stamp (Alberta) or a peach/tan stamp (Canada), with the words, "DUTY PAID CANADA DROIT ACQUITTE." Other indicators include a lack of health information and irregular packaging.The products often create significant health and safety risks, beyond the traditional use of tobacco, because they do not necessarily meet health and safety regulations."Now, people might think illicit tobacco is not really a big deal," said RCMP Chief Superintendent Gary Graham, Officer in Charge Community Safety and Well-being Branch. "That, 'Well, it's just a few cheap cigarettes, some minor infraction doesn't really hurt anybody,' but that's not true.""Contraband tobacco operations do hurt our communities now, maybe in ways that many people haven't thought about, but they do undermine our local businesses, both large and small. They negatively impact legitimate businesses.".The Government of Alberta collects tobacco taxes and duties and redistributes the revenue to public services such as healthcare and infrastructure projects."In the past five years, Alberta has seen a rise in contraband tobacco activities, and, during that same time, we’ve experienced a drop of more than $500 million in tobacco tax revenue,” said Dave Berry, Executive Vice President, Public Engagement and Chief Regulatory Officer of Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis.The Alberta RCMP have seen a steep rise in the number of charges laid against individuals for possession or illicit tobacco. In 2021, the RCMP filed 12 such charges, and in 2025, the number jumped to 150 charges.In November RCMP in Lloydminster stopped a truck driver and subsequently found 8.8 million unstamped cigarettes, which equate to a value of over $7.65 million. .Tuesday's press conference also celebrated Crime Stoppers' 50-year anniversary. "So their contribution to the public safety is significant, and on behalf of the Alberta RCMP, I want to thank them for their unwavering commitment over the past 50 years," Chief Superintendent Graham said. Individuals with information on illicit tobacco, or any other crime, can report the information anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477), online at p3tips.com, or on the p3tips app.
