Public Health Association of Australia
The Public Health Association of Australia is alarmed at Coalition and One Nation proposals which risk increasing the uptake of nicotine addiction by children and slowing rates of quitting by adults.
Australia has been winning the long fight to bring down nicotine addiction, with daily smoking prevalence down to 5.6 per cent by 2025, and regular vaping use stabilising after a decade of growth at 3.6 per cent.
Australia does not have a counter sales tax on tobacco products, only a customs duty. The proposed 80 per cent tax cut for international tobacco companies that import tobacco products into Australia means any cut to the import tax will only boost the profits of tobacco companies, with no change to tobacco prices – unless these companies choose to pass on the cut rather than building up their profits.
There is no evidence an 80 per cent cut will eliminate the illegal market. It won’t raise revenue, and won’t fight nicotine addiction. If tobacco importers did lower their product prices, and the criminal sector followed suit, the result could be disastrous.
The costs of tobacco go well beyond the price of the packet: illness, medications, hospital appointments, time away from work, burdensome caring responsibilities, lost income, and – tragically – premature death. Those costs are carried by families, communities and our health system.
Reducing tax risks deepening inequities. At a time when we rightly focus on housing and the cost of living, we should remember that health is absolutely essential to a good quality life.
90 per cent of nicotine addiction begins before the age of 18.
Young Australians are well aware of the health risks of nicotine addiction, and over 90 per cent of them reject it – but price and policy settings can influence uptake and shape social norms. Young people don’t need to be betrayed by political leaders surrendering to tobacco industry interests. Parents should not be betrayed in their daily attempts to protect their kids.
PHAA continues to call on all Australian politicians to put first and foremost the health and safety of Australia’s young people.
PHAA also calls on all political parties to refuse to take donations from tobacco industry interests.
Read the PHAA policy on tobacco control
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Currently you can buy a packet of illicit cigarettes for $15 at a “convenience store”. or you can pay $40 for the same thing at a supermarket. People who are otherwise very law abiding are buying their cigarettes illegally. The price signal is a very blunt instrument
I have noticed in some hospitals the operating schedules put smokers last on the list to encourage them to give up.
Perhaps it is time to place a counter tax on nicotine as cigarettes, cigars and vapes so that any lost revenue due to dropping the price of cancer sticks is recovered directly from the users.