Responsible retailers have warned Australia’s illicit tobacco wars will explode, with the Federal Government set to hike tobacco tax by 6.8 per cent on September 1 – effectively gifting the booming black-market thousands more customers.
Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) CEO Theo Foukkare said since 2012, tobacco excise has skyrocketed by 384 per cent far exceeding the point where it deters new smokers and now only benefits organised crime groups because smokers will continue to buy cheaper, illegal alternatives.
“Legal tobacco sales plummeted by 14 per cent over the first six months of this year in AACS member stores – but record nicotine levels in regional areas and growing use in capital cities have been recorded in waste water analysis, as shown in the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s report, which clearly shows people aren’t quitting smoking – they’re just buying and using illegal tobacco, “Mr Foukkare said.
“AACS will always support any responsible policy to deter people from smoking but with the booming and largely unmonitored black market flooded with illegal tobacco we’re just going to see more people hand over cash to crime gangs – most of them unknowingly.
“Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said organised criminal gangs are using the profit they gain from the illicit tobacco and vape market “to fund their other criminal activities like drug trafficking, and sex trafficking” – and now he’s sending more customers their way.
“Jacking up the tax on regulated tobacco on September 1 and branding it as a move to deter people from smoking is pure insanity.
If the Albanese Government is serious about stopping people from smoking they’d actually go after the
black market – not incentivise people to go buy from it to save money.
“Just look at Victoria, the state is burning as illicit tobacco turf wars rage on and now we have the Federal Government quite literally adding fuel to the fire because of this short-sighted tax grab that will only continue to put innocent lives at risk.
“You’ve really got to feel for the team at Australian Border Force that just set up a taskforce to tackle illicit tobacco, only for the Federal Government to make their job even harder by increasing the tax on regulated tobacco by almost 7 per cent, which will only increase the demand for illicit tobacco.
“The Government needs to put a pause on this excise hike and really commit to shutting down the black market, rather than sending even more Aussies into the arms of these dangerous criminals,” Mt Foukkare said.
Click the following link below to see the ACIC Wastewater Drug Monitoring Report 22:
Theo Foukkare is available for interview on 0423 003 133
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