Australians are expected to pay $40 for a typical packet of cigarettes by 2020
Cigarettes are expected to cost $40 per packet by 2020 thanks to yearly tax hikes supported by both major political parties.
Smokers have been slugged with five consecutive 12.5 per cent tobacco excise increases since 2013.
There will be three further hikes of that size between now and 2020, with the next set to hit on September 1.
The last Labor government first introduced the massive tax hikes. The policy was matched by Liberal Treasurer Scott Morrison in 2016.
In Budget papers, Mr Morrison’s government claimed ‘one of the most effective ways to discourage smoking is to increase the price of cigarettes.
‘Increases in tobacco excise over the last two decades have contributed to significant declines in the number of people smoking daily.’
But the consumption of cigarettes rose for the first time in more than a decade in the final quarter of 2017, deviating from a long term trend.