Australia aims to reduce rates of daily smoking to 5% or less by 2030. By 2023, we got down to 8.3%.
A key tool to encourage smokers to quit has been to raise the tobacco taxes. Now a pack of 20 cigarettes costs over A$40, with the excise making up around 70% of the price.
Meanwhile, illegal cigarettes have flooded the market, often costing $20 or less a pack. People who wouldn’t normally break the law are now buying cheap, illicit tobacco.
