Australia’s three largest tobacco wholesalers are urging the federal government to hit pause on further tax rises, warning the high cost of legally purchased cigarettes is causing smokers to turn to the black market and fuelling a crime wave.

With Treasurer Jim Chalmers preparing to hand down his fourth budget on March 25, Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands have warned in pre-budget submissions that the tobacco excise was now so high that it had backfired on the federal government.