Why the tobacco black market must be stopped

The Post reports:

Meanwhile, CCTV footage supplied by a local business appears to show a young boy on a bicycle selling illicit cigarettes from a bumbag.

A man who interacted with the boy estimated he was just nine or 10 years old.

He said it had become increasingly common to see young people selling tobacco and drugs in Papakura. On a previous occasion, he had seen another school-aged child selling bulk cartons of Double Happiness.

The tobacco black market has exploded in recent years due to poor policy decisions by Government. And this is the result.

“In a cost of living crisis, it makes no sense to hit heavy smokers with a tax increase. The concern is that smokers won’t pay it. They’ll instead turn to the gangs supplying illegal, unreported and unregulated smokes,” said Kaushal.

The evidence is crystal clear that this has happened.

Hoek strongly disputes that reducing excise is the solution.

I don’t support reducing the excise tax, but I do support freezing it. Further increases will just fuel the black market.

Instead, she argues the nicotine content of cigarettes should be substantially reduced, making smoking less “satisfying” and encouraging smokers to quit.

Of all the many many dumb things to come out of Otago University, this is arguably the dumbest. People smoke because of the addiction to nicotine (the tar kills them, not the nicotine). Reducing the nicotine content in legal cigarettes will be the stupidest thing possible as it will drive even more people to the black market.