title: Assessing contraband tobacco in two jurisdictions: a direct collection of cigarette butts.
abstract: The sale of contraband tobacco allows for tobacco tax evasion, which can undermine the effectiveness of tobacco tax policies in reducing the number of smokers. Estimates of the proportion of contraband vary widely as do the methods used to measure the proportion of contraband being smoked. The purpose of this study is to determine the proportion of contraband use in two different jurisdictions.
  
  
  
  A cross-sectional direct collection of cigarette butts was conducted in Peel and Brantford, Ontario, Canada in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Cigarette butts were collected from a variety of locations within both regions. Cigarette butts were assessed and classified into one of the following categories: contraband, legal Canadian, legal Native, International, unknown, and discards.
  
  
  
  The overall proportion of contraband cigarettes in Peel was 5.3 %, ranging from 2.8 to 8.6 % by location. In Brantford, the proportion of contraband was 33.0 %, with a range from 32.8 to 33.1 % by location.
  
  
  
  The direct collection of cigarette butts was determined to be a feasible method for a local public health unit in determining the proportion of contraband cigarettes. This approach showed that Brantford has a higher proportion of contraband consumption compared to Peel, which may be due to geographic location and proximity to the United States (US)-Canada border and Native Reserves. More research is needed to confirm this geographic association with other jurisdictions.
authors.affiliation: Peel Public Health, 7120 Hurontario Street, Mississauga, ON, L5W 1N4, Canada. Julie.Stratton@peelregion.ca.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stratton
authors.affiliation: Brant County Health Unit, 194 Terrance Hill Street, Brantford, ON, N3R 1G7, Canada.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shiplo
authors.affiliation: Peel Public Health, 7120 Hurontario Street, Mississauga, ON, L5W 1N4, Canada.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: Brant County Health Unit, 194 Terrance Hill Street, Brantford, ON, N3R 1G7, Canada.
authors.forename: Alexey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Babayan
authors.affiliation: Brant County Health Unit, 194 Terrance Hill Street, Brantford, ON, N3R 1G7, Canada.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.affiliation: Brant County Health Unit, 194 Terrance Hill Street, Brantford, ON, N3R 1G7, Canada.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D013660:Taxes; D019460:Tobacco Industry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D062789:Tobacco Products / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Contraband tobacco; Public health; Smoking behaviours; Smoking-prevention and control; Tobacco industry; Tobacco products; Unobtrusive observation