Arabic version: انقسام في أستراليا بشأن الاستجابة للتبغ غير المشروع

According to ABC News, Australian Bureau of Statistics data found that 80 per cent of nicotine consumed in Australia came from illicit sources. Legal tobacco consumption, which had hovered around 4,500 kilograms of nicotine per quarter from 2016, began falling in mid-2019 and has dropped to about a third of its level a decade ago.

Wastewater data point to a contrasting rise in illegal nicotine consumption. University of Sydney public health professor Becky Freeman said the 80 per cent measure does not mean eight in 10 cigarettes sold are illegal, because it reflects converted nicotine rather than cigarette numbers. She said illicit products vary in strength and their buyers are likely to be heavier users.

Freeman said the figures do not indicate a return of smoking overall. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported daily smoking fell to 5.6 per cent in 2025 from 8.3 per cent in 2022–2023, though former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth questioned the result, citing trends in several states including Western Australia.

The illicit trade has also cut tax revenue. Australia’s Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner estimated excise and duty evasion cost up to $11.8 billion in 2024–25, while the latest federal budget removed $8 billion from tobacco excise estimates across five years. Smoking is estimated to cost the economy more than $136 billion annually through disease treatment and lost productivity.

Policy proposals remain contested. Deakin University criminologist James Martin and Liberal MP Mary Aldred support considering an excise reduction, while Assistant Minister for Customs Julian Hill, Commissioner Amber Shuhyta, Freeman and the Australian Medical Association oppose cutting the tax. Australian Border Force seized more than 2.66 billion illegal cigarettes last year, and the federal government has committed $84 million over two budgets as part of a $345 million strategy targeting the market.