Tobacco black market in Australia now at $10b

ABC News reports:

Illicit, excise-evading cigarettes now comprise half of the cancer-inducing products sold to Australia’s 2.7 million smokers.

A study published by FTI Consulting put it at 39.4 per cent in 2024, up from 14 per cent six years ago, but an update for the month of June puts the figure at 50 per cent.

And, according to studies of wastewater, nicotine consumption in Australia, including vaping, is at an all-time high.

We can now conclude that the strategy of taxing and banning nicotine addiction out of existence is a complete failure.

The result is that organised crime is making about $10 billion a year in revenue.

This is what the previous Government had in store for NZ. Prohibition is a fat strategy, which fails, and just makes criminals wealthier.

Will Radio NZ report on this, alongside their scores of articles decrying the Government for not implementing the previous government’s prohibition strategy?

The black market in Australia has grown from 14% to 54%. So they used to have 86% of the tobacco market taxed and regulated, and now only 50% of the tobacco market is taxed or regulated.