Three things Australia must do to end the tobacco wars

Australia's official smoking rate has hit a historic low of five point six percent. But there's a catch. The Conversation reports that eighty percent of nicotine products Australians are now buying are illicit—and the black market is booming. Australians spend up to eight point five billion dollars a year on illegal nicotine, more than cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, and heroin combined. Since twenty twenty-three, there's been nearly three hundred arson attacks linked to the trade, plus extortion, intimidation, and several murders. Law enforcement seized more than two point six billion cigarettes last year, yet the market kept growing. The problem: current policies accidentally created a lucrative black market. The solution, per policy experts at The Conversation, is counterintuitive—legalize and regulate the legal one. That means cutting taxes that drive people to cheaper illicit alternatives, legalizing lower-risk products like vapes and nicotine pouches, and continuing enforcement. Canada tried this in nineteen ninety-four and saw contraband seizures fall ninety-four percent within six years.

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