Australia Ban Fuelling Crime
Australia’s anti-smoking push fuels crime, fails to curb smoking, and forces ex-smokers into the hands of the criminal black market, says the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates
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by Dave Cross
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Australia’s anti-smoking push fuels crime, fails to curb smoking, and forces ex-smokers into the hands of the criminal black market, says the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA). It condemns Australia’s tobacco control strategy as a “public health failure”, prioritising ideology over evidence, fuelling a A$6.3 billion illicit tobacco market, and leaving adult smoking rates remaining stagnant.
CAPHRA says that new data reveals one in four cigarettes consumed in Australia originates from the black market — a direct consequence of the world’s highest tobacco taxes and restrictive vaping policies.
CAPHRA argues this crisis exposes the fatal flaw in Australia’s approach: prohibition without offering safer alternatives drives consumers to criminal networks rather than reducing harm.
“Australia’s tobacco policy doesn’t pass the pub test. Sky-high cigarette prices haven’t made people quit—they’ve made criminals rich,” Nancy Loucas, CAPHRA’s Executive Coordinator, told Planet of the Vapes.
“The government’s own figures show smoking rates flatlined at 11% since 2019 despite taxing a pack to A$50. Meanwhile, organised crime syndicates pocket A$2.3 billion annually in evaded excise, funding drug trafficking and violent turf wars.”
Australia’s illicit tobacco trade has surged by 46% since 2020, with over 800,000 smuggled cigarettes intercepted monthly at airports. Criminal syndicates increasingly exploit international travellers, while firebombings of non-compliant retailers exceed 220 incidents since 2023.
“This isn’t just about lost tax revenue—it’s about community safety,” Loucas noted. “Melbourne’s ‘tobacco war’ has seen shops torched and innocent bystanders endangered. The government transformed a health issue into a national security crisis by ignoring basic economics: punitive taxes without alternatives breed black markets.”
Compounding the issue, Australia’s harsh vaping restrictions have pushed nicotine consumers toward unregulated products. Despite prescription-only access, 1.5 million Australians vape daily—87% sourcing devices illegally.
CAPHRA contrasts Australia’s approach with New Zealand, which halved smoking rates to 6% by legalising vaping and rejecting generational bans.
“New Zealand taxed tobacco heavily but gave smokers a ladder to climb down: affordable, regulated vapes. Australia took away the ladder and wondered why people kept smoking,” added Loucas.
Pippa Starr, Director of Australia’s ALIVE Advocacy Movement, agreed: “The evidence is unequivocal: illicit trade has doubled since 2020, vaping restrictions fuel a A$2.3 billion black market, and smoking rates haven’t budged. This isn’t harm reduction—it’s a policy failure that sacrifices public health for moral posturing.
“Australia’s strategy is a moralistic crusade, not public health. It’s time to abandon prohibitionist dogma before more lives are lost to crime and complacency,”
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Advocates is a regional alliance of consumer tobacco harm reduction advocacy organisations. CAPHRA says it is not related to or funded by any commercial interests. It is composed of volunteer consumer advocates from the Asia Pacific Region.
Photo Credit:
Photo by Anna Popović on Unsplash, resized
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
