Smokers for local brands

 MEMBERS of the public who smoke were questioned on how they were taking in the new brand of cigarette that arrived on the market recently.

To find out what the public think about the taste and smell of counterfeit cigarettes, The National conducted a survey in two centres – Madang and Port Moresby. 

However, the paper’s effort to get a reaction from the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission or the British American Tobacco (BAT) was unsuccessful.

1. Rex Pingin: “We, the street sellers, buy 25 packs that are bundled and sold in eights. We want to know who was responsible because when we opened the box, only one or two packets would be  genuine (cigarettes) and our buyers were always asking us why we sold these smokes. It’s not our fault because we also did not know.

2. Alfred Orea: “I think the counterfeit cigarettes had a bad taste and smell and it’s a waste of money for me. I blame wholesalers for bringing them in to the country.

3. Zoe Korom: “This is the same all across the board with counterfeit products. And when the price is low, what do you think Papua New Guineans will go for? Maybe if the real product, which is made in PNG by BAT (British American Tobacco) was cheaper, we could promote it more and the counterfeit products would lose out.

4. Dalag Kuten, a Madang town resident, said: “The locally-produced cigarettes are better than the imported ones as they have the original taste.

5.Richard Sakel: “If the price of locally-produced cigarettes was lower, then I would not be buying fake imported ones.  

6. Luke Kakos: “Many people preferred locally-made cigarettes. However, we also continue to consume counterfeit cigarettes as they are cheaper despite the taste and quality.

7. Paiau Saware, a vendor, prefers selling locally-made cigarettes as she still makes profit even though the price is a bit higher than imported ones. 

“I sell more cigarettes (local products) every day and I think many people prefer the taste … not the price.”