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The Keep It Out campaign, that encourages communities to report illegal “under the counter” tobacco, is back - after the quantity of cigarettes and tobacco seized increased by eight times in just five weeks.
During the first phase of the campaign, which took place in April and May, almost 640,000 cigarettes and 153kg of rolling tobacco were seized by Greater Manchester Trading Standards.
This is nearly as much as all the illegal tobacco seized last year in all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester (804,000 cigarettes and 145kg of rolling tobacco).
The next stage of the campaign will run for four weeks and focus on neighbourhoods where Trading Standards suspect illegal tobacco is being sold. The campaign includes targeted leaflet drops and advertising.
Illegal tobacco is a major cause of young people starting smoking and undermines adults’ attempts to quit, as it's often sold at very low prices.
The crackdown is part of Greater Manchester’s strategy to cut smoking rates by a third by the end of 2021.
The sale of illegal tobacco can be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or at keep-it-out.co.uk.
 A consultation on the proposed bus franchising scheme for Greater Manchester is currently taking place.
It’s your chance to help shape the way bus services are run in the city region.
The proposal would place buses under Greater Manchester’s control, which would allow decisions about fares, timetables and routes to be made centrally – much like in London.
Three-out-of-four public transport journeys in Greater Manchester are made by bus, so we’d appreciate it if you took the time to share your views.
An improved and more widely used bus service would have a positive impact on health - fewer cars being used would result in less congestion and less air pollution.
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