Aussie smoker lashes tough new laws on cigarettes: ‘Controlling measure’

An Aussie smoker has lashed the latest changes to the country’s cigarette laws, arguing the government intervention is about ‘control’ instead of health. 

Menthol, rum and clove-flavoured cigarettes and those with crush balls in the filter will be banned in an attempt to make smoking as unappealing as possible.

The new measures will also outlaw certain ingredients, flavours and accessories. 

A woman, who said she only smoked when she had a drink, questioned the real motive for the tough new laws on cigarettes due to take effect on July 1. 

‘The lady I spoke to at the tobacconist said it was more of a controlling measure in Australia,’ she said in a TikTok video. 

‘We’re already paying enough and yes we choose to smoke nicotine. 

‘I just don’t think it’s right for the government to control what we’re buying because we’re already paying for it.’

‘To find out that you cannot buy a 25 pack, a 30 pack, a 40 pack, a 50 pack…you can only buy a 20-pack from the first of July, that’s just unbelievable. I don’t have words. ‘I just feel it’s bulls***. I’d love to hear your opinion. I’m just like ‘what the f***.’

 A social smoker has questioned the real motive behind new laws on cigarettes in Australia

The video sparked debate from both sides and garnered almost 2,500 comments.

‘We should all get together and petition – if you don’t smoke, awesome. But for the smokers – it’s our life, we are adults. We know the dangers. The government has no right to gouge the way they do and control us,’ one wrote.

‘As a non-smoker I find this really wrong,’ a second said. 

‘The government should not be controlling people who smoke. The government already make enough out of smokers,’ another said. 

Many questioned why the government didn’t apply the same laws to alcohol. 

‘Imagine they treated alcohol the same as smokes,’ a third wrote. 

‘Only basic spirits, no differences in flavour, in the same non-description packaging covered in warnings and only in a hip flask size but taxed to the roof. It wouldn’t happen but alcohol is more dangerous to communities and has as many health risks.’

‘All the people commenting about smokers costing the health system. No problem drinking, no problem gambling, no problem obesity. Are you serious,’ another agreed. 

‘Poison in every puff’ and ‘toxic addiction’ are just two of the messages printed on every cigarette by under the tobacco regulations (pictured)

The regular tax hikes on cigarettes have created a booming black market, with millions now buying illegal, counterfeit cigarettes sold in convenience stores (pictured)

Cigarette manufacturers will also be banned from using words like ‘smooth’ and ‘gold’ because they can create the false impression that some products were less harmful. 

Cigarette prices in Australia are among the highest in the world due to heavy taxation.

A standard 20 pack costs more than $50, depending on the brand, with 70 per cent of the retail price ($35) going to the government in excise tax.

Cigarette excise taxes actually increase twice a year. On March 1, the tax per cigarette rose by 2.8 per cent to $1.27816, up from $1.24335.

The regular tax hikes on cigarettes have created a booming black market, with millions now buying illegal, counterfeit cigarettes sold in convenience stores.

Despite the tax increases, government revenue from tobacco has plummeted due to fewer people buying the expensive product – dropping 39 per cent in just four years, from a peak of $16billion in 2019/20 to $9.8billion in 2023/24.

The ATO estimated that nearly one in five cigarettes smoked in Australia came from criminal syndicates that evade taxes and sell at deep discounts.

Illegal cigarettes are significantly cheaper, costing between $10 and $20 per pack—less than half the price of legal smokes.

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