Chinese officials in Va. to discuss fake cigarettes
Tuesday - 9/18/2012, 1:51pm ET
RICHMOND, Va. - Officials with China's government-controlled cigarette industry are meeting with the top U.S. cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, to discuss how to fight cigarette counterfeiting.
A six-member delegation from China will be in the Richmond area this week to help lay the groundwork for future efforts against counterfeiting.
Officials with Philip Morris USA's parent company, Altria Group Inc., say most of the counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes found on the black market come from China. Millions of packs of counterfeit cigarettes are made illegally in caves or on farms and shipped into the U.S. every year.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports ( http://bit.ly/OWiASU) that the company has been working with Chinese officials for years to tackle the problem But this is the first time a delegation has come here specifically to discuss cigarette counterfeiting.
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Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com
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