What impact is the illicit tobacco trade having on smoking rates?

11/11/2025 27 min
What impact is the illicit tobacco trade having on smoking rates?

Listen "What impact is the illicit tobacco trade having on smoking rates?"

Episode Synopsis


Last week authorities shut down two illicit tobacco stores in Sydney... the first to be closed under new state laws targeting the illegal tobacco trade.It's a $10 billion trade that has flourished in Australia in recent years... with illicit cigarettes now comprising half of the products sold to the country's 2.7 million smokers. And the related underworld conflict is resulting in violent turf-wars.Meanwhile, the legal sale of cigarettes has slowed.So what impact is this having on Australia's smoking rates... and your local community?And what needs to be done if the goal is fewer smokers and a healthier population?