Tobacco tax to increase 15% in massive smoking, vaping crackdown

The eye-watering cost of a popular item has sparked ire among Australians - and the price is set to rise yet again due to a massive tax increase.

Smokers across Australia will have to pay as much as $10 more per cigarette packet due to a massive tax increase.

In Labor’s second federal budget handed down on Tuesday night, the government announced tobacco products will be slapped with an additional 15 per cent tax.

The price will jump by five per cent every year for the next three years from September 1, with the full amount coming into play by 2026.

Currently, a pack of 20 cigarettes can be bought for around $39, but this will skyrocket to $49 when the changes come into full effect.

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The new policy extends beyond cigarettes, with loose-leaf “rollie” tobacco and nicotine vapes also caught up in the crackdown.

It’s expected to generate an eye-watering $3.3 billion for the federal government over the next three years.

The news has raised eyebrows among social media users, with one snapping a picture inside a Sydney tobacconist showing that some cigarettes are already out of many people’s price range.

Social media users pointed out how exorbitant the prices are already for cigarettes. Source: Reddit

In the photo, most packs of cigarettes are in the $30 to $50 range while the most expensive one sits at $98 – and that’s before the tax hike.

“I get it, and yes it needs to be taxed, but damn,” wrote one person on social media.

Another said it would just lead to a “lucrative black market” for those seeking a cheaper nicotine hit.

One person pointed out that the tax hike on cigarettes directly impacted poorer Australians who are statistically more likely to smoke.

“It’s getting to the point where they’re taxing a huge chunk of poor people who don’t have the capacity to fight off addiction,” they wrote.

For some Australians, however, the rising cost of cigarettes has had a positive impact.

“I quit because I was literally priced out of the habit,” wrote an ex-smoker. “Simply out of my budget. Thank you minimum wage for saving my health!”

Ohers said the price hike simply made nicotine vapes a more viable option to continue their smoking habit.

“I’m just so shocked to see a price list,” commented another. “I switched to vaping recently. $20 and it lasts me like 4-5 days. So I spend about $60 a fortnight instead of $180.”

Nicotine vapes will also become harder to obtain, the government has also warned.

The federal government will introduce an “enhanced regulatory approach to vaping”, according to the budget papers, which will reportedly see vape users requiring a prescription to obtain the product from a pharmacy.

The fruity flavours and colourful packaging will also be abolished to make vapes less appealing for Australia’s younger population.

Soon vapes will no longer be available at tobacco shops, and only at pharmacies. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the sweeping changes during the federal budget speech on Tuesday night. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Australia’s government will slowly introduce the 15 per cent smoking excise by “progressively” increasing the tax required for each kilogram of tobacco in cigarettes and loose leaf tobacco.

For instance, the same amount of tax on 0.7 grams of tobacco will soon be required for 0.6 grams.

There is also a raft of other measures the government is undertaking to provide “support” to smokers and former smokers.

The government will provide $511.1 million over the next four years into lung cancer checkups as well as vaping regulation and other areas of support.

This includes $263.8 million into a national lung cancer screening program and a further $141.2 million to reduce smoking and vaping among Indigenous Australians.

There will also be $63.4 million poured into public health campaigns around smoking.

The remainder of the money will go towards smoking and vaping cessation support and the

testing of tobacco products, including increased inspections for quality control.

Originally published as Tobacco tax to increase 15% in massive smoking, vaping crackdown