NEWCASTLE, England, May 26 (UPI) -- Millions of Britons are happy to buy knock-offs and fake goods, especially in the city of Newcastle, a new poll found.
Newcastle was named Britain's counterfeit capital in a survey of attitudes toward fake goods taken by YouGov on behalf of Microsoft, The Guardian reported Saturday.
Only 22 percent of those surveyed in Newcastle said buying fake goods was unacceptable, making them the country's most likely purchasers of knock-offs and forgeries, YouGov said. Norwich emerged as Britain's most honest city, with 67 percent of those surveyed saying the purchase of counterfeits was always wrong.
YouGov surveyed 2,009 people throughout Britain and found younger people were more likely to buy fake goods. DVDs are the most popular such purchases followed by CDs and then clothing and fashion items, the British newspaper
reported.
The tobacco industry estimates more than $4 billion is lost each year in the United Kingdom to fake-brand cigarettes and smuggling. British record companies estimate pirated music costs them about $330 million a year in lost revenue.
