RFID to stub out cigarette smuggling?

Anti-counterfeit tech will be introduced on cigarette packets in the UK within the next six months with speculation mounting that this could involve the use of RFID.

The government has agreed to the use of a 'covert security mark' on cigarette packets. Small hand-held readers will be used by customs staff to authenticate cigarettes, according to the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association (TMA).

But HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the TMA are remaining tight-lipped about the exact nature of the technology, even though several newspaper reports have suggested that RFID tags will be used.

An HMRC spokesman said: "It's still work in progress - a decision hasn’t been made yet."

Got two seconds?

Make your voice heard - take our latest poll.

Dr Peter Harrop of RFID analyst IDTechEx said conventional RFID tech would be too expensive at the moment, with it only being a realistic option if the chips used were to cost less than 1 cent to manufacture.

He said: "No one in their right mind would put a conventional RFID chip in a cigarette packet."

But he suggested other similar tech such as 'chipless' RFID - which doesn't use a silicon chip - could be a more realistic option in the long run.

Harrop added cigarette companies may feel the counterfeit cigarette industry is damaging their brand to such an extent that subsidising the tech to get the ball rolling may be an option.

He said this would be a commercial decision rather than a technical one.

The TMA estimates that around two billon counterfeit cigarettes are smuggled into the UK each year.

Of all cigarettes sold in the UK in 2006, 27 per cent did not incur tax. Around £3.5bn is lost in tax revenue per year through cross-border and smuggled cigarettes.