Center for Tobacco Studies, Rutgers School of Public Health, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Department of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
Tob Control. 2019 Jul;28(4):469-471. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054501. Epub 2018 Sep 3.
Document the use of ultraviolet watermark in counterfeit joint New York City/New York State cigarette tax stamps to assess the scale at which distributors of illegal cigarettes adapt to measures protecting the integrity of the system of tobacco tax collection.
In 2016, we collected 2357 empty discarded cigarette packs along a stratified random sample of block groups in New York City (n=114) and analysed 449 joint New York City/New York State tax stamps using long wave ultraviolet irradiation, light microscopy and taggant testers developed by the tax stamp manufacturer, Meyercord Revenue, to determine whether the tax stamps were counterfeit and how they differed from their genuine equivalent.
23% (n=102) of the joint NYC/NYS tax stamps examined were counterfeit. Subsequent investigation revealed that almost two-thirds (n=58) of the counterfeit sample bore ultraviolet watermark that closely resembled genuine tax stamps in terms of fluorescence, watermark colour and wording. However, microscopic findings revealed that counterfeit tax stamps mismatched the genuine ultraviolet watermark in regards to font style and word orientation.
Counterfeiters are using ultraviolet watermarks which makes it difficult to differentiate counterfeit joint New York City/New York State tax stamps from their genuine equivalent when UV irradiation is used as the sole screening tool. Innovations in counterfeiting technology may be the result of fluorescent ink being available for purchase in the mainstream market. Independent monitoring of trends in the illicit market for tobacco products is advised to keep apace of counterfeiting methods.
记录伪造的纽约市/纽约州联合香烟税票中使用的紫外线水印，以评估非法香烟经销商适应保护烟草税收系统完整性措施的规模。
2016 年，我们沿着纽约市分层随机抽样的街区组收集了 2357 个空废弃香烟盒（n=114），并使用长波紫外线照射、光学显微镜和由税票制造商 Meyercord Revenue 开发的标记测试器分析了 449 个纽约市/纽约州联合税票，以确定这些税票是否是伪造的，以及它们与真品有何不同。
检查的联合纽约市/纽约州税票中有 23%（n=102）是伪造的。随后的调查显示，近三分之二（n=58）的伪造样本带有紫外线水印，在荧光、水印颜色和文字方面与真品税票非常相似。然而，显微镜检查结果显示，伪造的税票在字体样式和文字方向方面与真品的紫外线水印不匹配。
造假者正在使用紫外线水印，这使得在仅使用紫外线照射作为唯一筛选工具时，很难将伪造的纽约市/纽约州联合税票与真品区分开来。荧光油墨在主流市场上可购买，这可能是造假技术创新的结果。建议对烟草制品非法市场的趋势进行独立监测，以跟上造假方法的步伐。
