How $40-a-Pack Cigarettes Pushed Australians to the Black Market

[MrBirdman]

Excellent article. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/world/asia/how-40-a-pack-cigarettes-pushed-australians-to-the-black-market.html?unlocked_article_code=1.MlA.RzYj.142YyDuDLlER&smid=url-share

[yossie]

I have no idea on cigar pricing in Aussie though. That sounds to me that a pack of cigarettes is more expensive than a cigar. 

[El Presidente]

5 hours ago, MrBirdman said:

Excellent article. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/world/asia/how-40-a-pack-cigarettes-pushed-australians-to-the-black-market.html?unlocked_article_code=1.MlA.RzYj.142YyDuDLlER&smid=url-share

Some of my deck lads enjoy a dart/durrie. They all buy black market. Price ranges from $6.60 USD to 9 USD for a pack of 25. 

[JohnS]

Thank you @MrBirdman for this article. We have on occasion brought this sort of news (unique to Australia) to our members' attention, of recent times. When it's reported in the New York Times; however, it does start to suggest that the Australian Government will need to address this problem of their own making.

[westg]

Buying a packet of illegal cigarettes in Perth Western Australia is not difficult. A pack of 20 goes for around 15 notes. The mango flavoured cigarettes with tropical packaging are the go to at the moment. Rolling tobacco and vapes are readily available. It has blown out of control and largely run by Blue Oyster Bar bikie outlaws. Hardly a week seems to go by without a tobacconist being burnt to the ground. If you own or rent a property that is situated above a tobacconist in Perth, no one will insure you. 

[westg]

13 hours ago, JohnS said:

Thank you @MrBirdman for this article. We have on occasion brought this sort of news (unique to Australia) to our members' attention, of recent times. When it's reported in the New York Times; however, it does start to suggest that the Australian Government will need to address this problem of their own making.

Exactly John. A problem of their own making. 

[Fuzz AI]

Manchester Cigarettes, ostensibly a UK brand, but in reality a company based in Jebel Ali Free Zone Dubai. This is the brand that you will find in most black market shops in Aus. Interestingly, the crime boss Australia deported back to Iran now owns a majority share in Manchester. Vertical integration at its best.

[JohnS]

A recent local article on this issue from the Sydney Morning Herald...

‘Something has to change’: Cut cigarette tax or more people will get hurt, says Liberal MP

Shane Wright - February 17, 2026

A Liberal MP says excise on tobacco should be slashed back to where it was almost a decade ago, warning more innocent people will be hurt by organised criminals fighting to supply the illicit cigarette trade unless the current tax system is overhauled.

As the NSW government accused the federal government of contributing to the explosion in illicit tobacco by failing to prevent imports of illegal products, Mary Aldred said it was clear that years of higher excise rates were driving a social crisis that was doing severe damage to the federal budget.

Liberal MP Mary Aldred says a cut in tobacco excise as part a crackdown on the illegal trade was needed. - Alex Ellinghausen

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Monday new research by Oxford Economics, commissioned by one of the nation’s largest independent retailers, that backed a 30 per cent cut in excise as part of a broad suite of measures aimed at undermining the illegal tobacco trade.

The federal budget is facing a $67 billion shortfall in tobacco excise in the decade up to 2028-29 despite a steep rise in tax rates, with smokers moving to illicit products. Illegal cigarettes can be less than a third of the price of a legal product.

Aldred, whose electorate east of Melbourne has suffered cases of criminals selling illicit tobacco or trying to pressure legal sellers, said apart from cutting excise levels back to their 2017 level, the entire illegal tobacco issue should go to national cabinet for a co-ordinated approach.

A national taskforce headed by the Australian Federal Police should oversee a targeted policing response to the wave of criminal activity.

She said some of the country’s most notorious organised criminals were overseeing firebombings and ram raids that had cost the life of at least one person, Victorian woman Katie Tangey.

Aldred told his masthead: “I’m really worried we’re going to see more people hurt if we don’t do something different.
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“The federal government is getting less revenue, more people are smoking and we’ve had the biggest increase in organised crime that we’ve seen in decades. Something has to change.”

Oxford Economics found that without a change to the tax structure and more stringent policing at the border and across retail outlets, 90 per cent of all cigarettes bought in Australia by the end of the decade would be illegal.

It found a deep cut in excise would be enough to encourage smokers to return to legal cigarettes.

The NSW government has previously backed a cut in tobacco excise.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said he would be receptive to “any policy measure” that reduced the use of tobacco, noting much of the illegal product was being imported.

“This public health failure has seen states and territories have to dedicate further resources in licensing, enforcement and in dealing with the healthcare challenges that result from it,” he said.

“In addition to the demand created by the excise, I am concerned about the influx of these products through our borders, and clearly there’s more to be done in that regard.”

New federal Liberal leader Angus Taylor noted the Coalition had gone to the last election promising to decriminalise vaping, arguing the current policy system was failing.

“I think we’ve got to be sensible about this and realise there’s a big problem, and the current way it’s being managed is not working,” he told The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

In his last budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers unveiled a two-year, $150 million package targeted at the illicit tobacco trade. In the same budget, he revealed a near $17 billion downgrade in expected tobacco excise collections.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would not be drawn on whether the government would freeze or cut tobacco excise, saying it was an issue that would be dealt with in the budget.

But he signalled a further clampdown on the illegal trade was an option.

“There are two reasons why [the tobacco excise] was put in place. It’s not just about revenue,” he told ABC radio on Tuesday.

“It’s also about sending a message on health. And when it comes to illegal tobacco, we’re spending a lot of money as well. A lot of those taxes are going into clamping down on illegal tobacco and those criminals associated with it.”

Source: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/something-has-to-change-cut-cigarette-tax-or-more-people-will-get-hurt-says-liberal-mp-20260217-p5o304.html

[MrBirdman]

This seems to be a case where the “Laffer Curve” in taxes actually proves to be accurate. Though it seems the black market is so well established now that it may take a very large cut to bring buyers back to legal purchases. Cutting packs to $36 certainly won’t cut the mustard.