A new report has raised concerns over the impact Brexit is having on the trade of illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco in Wales. The report warns that urgent attention is needed to prevent any increase in adverse health affects in Wales.
The report, from Public Health Wales (PHW), highlights that there are three main ways that Brexit is potentially impacting the trade of illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco in Wales. The report stresses that Wales is particularly vulnerable to negative health outcomes, including death, from the use of these illicit products, and deaths as a result of illicit drugs are now at their highest levels since records began in 1993.
Alcohol deaths are also high and smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in Wales. The report states that the use of illegal alcohol and tobacco adds to the problems already caused by the use of these legal products.
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Concerns have also been raised about two new freeports which are set to be established in Wales. Freeports are designed to have fewer checks and regulations with the intention being to boost international trade, but PHW says they can also be target of increased risk of criminal exploitation unless sufficient measures are put in place.
The following are the main ways that PHW says Brexit has changed international collaboration to tackle illicit trade:
- Data and information sharing: The UK does not have the same access to several EU databases for identifying criminals and illicit activity across Europe as it did before Brexit, potentially reducing its ability to detect and prevent illicit trade in the UK and Wales.
- Border and import controls: Now that the UK sits outside of the EU, it no longer participates in the Single Market or Customs Union. PHW says this could be advantageous for tackling illicit trade if goods are subject to additional checks at UK borders. However, new international trade agreements and proposals for freeports in the UK and Wales may create new opportunities that criminals will seek to exploit to smuggle illicit goods into Wales and the UK.
- Supply and demand: Post-Brexit, the UK is negotiating new international trade agreements, which have the potential to create new supply routes and opportunities for criminal exploitation, according to the report. Brexit also has the potential to shape the demand for illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in the UK and Wales by increasing risk of unemployment in sectors highly exposed to trade and poorer mental health due to uncertainty and a feeling of not being in control; all risk factors for increased consumption and/or misuse.
Dr Louisa Petchey, Senior Policy Specialist in the WHO Collaborating Centre at Public Health Wales, said: "Drug deaths have reached their highest ever levels in Wales. Alcohol deaths are also worryingly high, and smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in Wales. This makes the detection and prevention of illicit trade in these goods vital.
“But there can be solutions. To effectively reduce the illicit trade of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs in the UK and Wales and benefit population health and well-being, strategies will need to reduce both the supply and demand of these goods, and this will mean taking account of the potential impact of Brexit on both factors. This includes understanding its impact on supply chains, border controls, and law enforcement cooperation. It also means responding to the ways in which Brexit may have negatively impacted on health and well-being in Wales to decrease demand for these goods in the first place.”
Dr Julie Bishop, Director of Health Improvement at Public Health Wales, said: “Illegally traded alcohol and tobacco have a damaging impact on population health and well-being that exceeds the risk already posed by their legal forms.
“Individuals from the worst-off areas of the UK and Wales are more likely to experience negative health outcomes from use of illicit products, including deaths and hospitalisations. Therefore it’s really important that strategies are developed to reduce the trade in these products, as it will make a positive impact in communities who are facing the greatest challenges.”
The report concludes: "The illicit trade of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco is a serious public health issue for Wales. Drugs are causing more deaths than ever previously recorded, deaths attributed to alcohol are almost a third higher now than in 2019, and smoking remains the leading cause of preventable deaths in Wales. For alcohol and tobacco, the health harms of illicit forms exceed the risk already posed by their legal forms, and it is people living in the worst-off parts of Wales whose health is being harmed the most. Consequently, tackling the illicit trade of these goods, and the drivers of supply and demand that underpin it, are of vital public health concern."
The report also raised concerns about the impact Brexit had on people's finances as being a contributing factor to a potential increase in the use of illegal drugs, illegal alcohol and tobacco use.
The report added: "As Wales considers its response to worryingly high deaths due to drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, a key priority must therefore be to tackle the conditions that drive demand."
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