Representatives from the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) have called for the Government to implement improvements to tackle the ‘growing challenge of illicit trade in tobacco’. The latest meeting came ahead of the new financial year, which will see ‘a series of costs impacting small independent retailers’, the Fed said. The discussion also focused on the ‘growing challenge’ of illicit trade in tobacco and the ‘unfair competition’ to responsible retailers provided by this trade ‘which is widely linked to organised crime’, the Fed said. Following the meeting, Sanjay Patel said: “It was a very positive meeting and I was pleased by Joshua’s interest in the topics we discussed. “I’m going to take them with us and invest in them and make sure they can enjoy and look forward to a life that gets better year after year.”Representatives from the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) have called for the Government to implement improvements to tackle the ‘growing challenge of illicit trade in tobacco’.

Source: Express April 10, 2026 16:40 UTC