Illegal cigarette campaign named after Spalding mum who died in house fire thanks to dedicated daughter Julie Grant
Dedicated daughter Julie Grant is ‘proud’ and ‘honoured’ that a major campaign to tackle the dangers of illegal cigarettes will be named after her mum.
Julie’s mum June Buffham died aged 71 in a house fire in Spalding on April 15 2012 - and, in the ten years since, she’s helped to raise the dangers caused by illegal cigarettes.
June’s death was linked to a Jin Ling cigarette that dropped in her chair - and the family, like many others, were unaware of the danger posed by these cut-priced items.
Julie’s parents - who got the cigarettes through someone her dad knew at a social club - came from a generation where buying cheaper imported cigarettes was the norm, with people often bringing them back from holiday through Duty Free.
However, as well as containing unsavoury items such as rat droppings, illegal cigarettes don’t have ‘speed bumps’ in the paper that cause them to self-extinguish if they’re not being smoked and pose a huge fire risk.
Julie has raised awareness of this danger and reiterated her determination to spread the word to her dad Peter on his death bed in 2016.
She said: “I promised him that while I have got a breath in my body I will do what I can.”
She added: “I’ll never forget hearing those words, ‘there has been a fire at home and your mum is dead’. They will haunt me for the rest of my life.
“I want to do everything I can to help stop another family going through what mine went through.
“It may be ten years since my mum passed, but the pain is still as raw as if it had happened yesterday.”
Julie, who now lives in Swineshead, called on people to take greater notice on what is in the products they are smoking. She explained: “I knew that my mum smoked, but I had never really thought about the types of cigarettes she was smoking, just that they were a cheaper brand. And I was totally unaware of the increased risk she was putting herself at by smoking illegal cigarettes.
“If you have family or friends that smoke, do you know about their smoking habits? What kind of cigarettes do they smoke? Do they smoke in the house? Everyone thinks it won’t happen to them and their family until it does.
“The people that sell these products are only thinking about their own financial gain, and not the real human consequences of their actions. They’re ruining lives and they need to be stopped.”
Julie herself inspired a new campaign to raise awareness and crack down on the sale of illegal cigarettes.
She grew concerned at the impact of the cost of living crisis - and worried people would turn to illegal cigarettes to save money, with unlawful packets costing about a third of their legal counterparts.
She wrote to fire chiefs across the UK and had a great response. Our fire brigade and trading standards teams then spoke to each other, decided to mount a campaign and asked Julie for permission to name it ‘Operation June’ after her mum.
The suggestion meant a lot to Julie. She said: “It was a good job I was driving so I was sitting down. Even driving I had got tears down my face. It’s an honour and it did make me proud. It’s something to remember mum by - it was a big moment.”
Trading standards and the fire brigade have involved Julie in shaping the campaign - and last week presented her with a bouquet of flowers and a card to thank her for her campaigning efforts over the last ten years.
The campaign comes after a raid on a shop in Spalding on March 24 in which 10,000 illegal cigarettes were seized.
The shop - which cannot be named while the investigation continues - concealed the goods in a hidden floor compartment.
Julie added: “There have been raids in Spalding recently but it’s not just in Spalding, it’s everywhere.
“They know they are doing wrong and they are trying to hide it. The dogs are cleverer than they are. We are only a small town and people do talk - people will know.
She added: “It amazes me still how many people do not understand what buying these products is actually doing. It’s not just about fire safety, it’s the crime and what the money is used for.
“I am not being anti-smoker. I understand. It’s an addiction like anything else. I like a glass of wine, they like a cigarette, that isn’t the thing.
“The thing is if you are going to smoke please buy them from a proper shop that sells legal cigarettes.”
Operation June to raise awareness of the dangers of illegal cigarettes
As part of Operation June, Julie will join in two roadshow events this week - one in Boston tomorrow (Wednesday) and one in Lincoln on Friday. Further events may follow elsewhere in the county.
Dexter the fire investigation dog and his handler will be there to demonstrate how he helps establish the cause of fires, and Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue will provide advice in preventing fires in the home.
OneYou Lincolnshire will also provide details of support services available to help people quit smoking.
Emma Milligan, operational delivery manager for Lincolnshire Trading Standards, said: “Since June’s death, we’ve cracked down hard on those selling illicit tobacco, and taken tens of thousands of dodgy cigarettes off Lincolnshire’s streets.
“Unfortunately, it is an ongoing battle as criminals find new, elaborate ways of trying to hide these things from us. However, working on gathered intelligence and tip-offs from the public, we can find the shops that sell these products, uncover their hiding places, and bring sellers to justice.
“It’s not just the fire hazard these products pose, and the obvious health dangers, we find that the sale of illegal cigarettes attracts other anti-social behaviour and criminal activity to an area.
“Help us stub it out; if you have any information about the sale of illegal cigarettes please let us know anonymously.”
As well as illicit cigarettes, every operation to raise awareness of the danger posed by legal cigarettes and e-cigarettes will bear the name Operation June.
If you know anything about illegal tobacco products being sold in our area you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or report it online at crimestoppers-uk.org.
Plus you can visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/home-fire-safety/smoking-vaping-safety for safety advice.