‘Wake-up pill’: Crossbench demands tobacco excise rethink as smoking rates surge
Just 20% of tobacco sold in Australia is legal and nicotine use is on the rise.
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce says the government’s fight against illicit cigarettes is less effective than efforts to stop people “pulling cones and taking coke”, as the crossbench demands a rethink of Australia’s strict tobacco laws.
The push, from conservative and independent crossbenchers, comes after alarming data showed soaring nicotine use is funding a rampant illegal trade.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed this week that 80% of nicotine consumption in Australia is now illegal, while smoking rates increased by about 40% between 2017 and last year.
The revelation heightens questions about the tobacco excise, which has pushed the price of legal cigarettes beyond $50, and which critics argue is funding a rampant black market.
