Musgrave Street store, Rocky Tobacconist, is selling tobacco products contrary to plain packaging laws

Secret footage has revealed a Rockhampton store selling cigarette packets that don’t comply with Federal laws and more suspicious activity. The high cost of cigarettes has resulted in an explosion of these shops. WATCH THE VIDEO

Illicit tobacco trading is strong in Rockhampton as customers flock to a new store that has opened in the city.

An investigation by The Morning Bulletin can reveal a store, named Rocky Tobacconist, is selling cheap, branded cigarette packets, loose leaf “chop shop” tobacco, bongs and has smoking related products on display.

It comes as illegal tobacco trading is on the rise in southeast Queensland and is now spreading to the regions.

The store, which opened in November, is selling tailor-made cigarette packets that do not have government required plain packing with mandatory health warnings.

The cigarette packets sold at Rocky Tobacconist don't have the government packaging

In a visit to the store by this publication, staff readily handed over the products and customers were very keen to pay the cheap prices.

A customer asked for four packets of a cigarette brand and the shopkeeper said they had sold out but would be getting more in.

The plain tobacco packaging, known as the generic yellow and green/brown colours, was introduced by the Australian Government in 2012.

The law is governed by the Department of Health and failure to adhere to it can result in a warning, infringement notice, civil penalty or criminal prosecution.

Under Queensland regulations, it is illegal to have tobacco and smoking related products on display.

Smoking related products on display at Rocky Tobacconist

The Rockhampton store has several glass cabinets, where cigarette filters, papers and tubes and tobacco glass pipes are on display.

Traditional hookah shishas, a water pipe with a smoke chamber, a bowl, a pipe and a hose similar to a bong, are legal to sell however there must not be more than three on display.

Footage captured with a hidden camera on a visit to Rocky Tobacconist showed there were four on display in the glass cabinets, along with the other smoking-related products.

Inside Rocky Tobacconist

The store also doesn’t have any of the mandatory government signage that states it is an offence to supply a smoking product to a person aged under 18 years.

There were also not any Queensland Government COVID-19 check-in signs visible in the store.

While the store has no social media presence or trace online, word has spread around town about its cheap prices.

The store has a steady stream of customers each day, with people of all demographics filing in and out of the store, leaving with white plastic bags full of goods.

The prices are quite cheap in comparison to other retailers, with a 20 pack of tailor made cigarettes selling for $20 and loose leaf tobacco selling for $25 for 25g, $50 for 50 grams and $100 for 100g.

This is in comparison to other tobacco retailers who comply with the federal and state requirements, where the cheapest 20 pack is $28 and 50 grams of tobacco is $120.

All sales are conducted in cash and there is no eftpos in store.

Rockhampton tobacco and smoking retailers who are running their stores by the rules are frustrated at the lack of clarity around who is responsible for shutting down illegal stores.

In the meantime, gossip is spreading about the illicit store and the legitimate retailers are losing business.

One local legitimate tobacco retailer has noticed a drop in at least 50 or more customers per day.

Rocky Tobacconist.

Speaking generally, Josh Fett, spokesman for British American Tobacco Australia, said there has been an “explosion” in reports of illegal tobacco being sold throughout Queensland over the past 18 months with a new store almost every week.

“It started as a cluster of shops being reported around Brisbane and now appears to be spreading out into regional areas, like Rockhampton, Hervey Bay and Bundaberg which is really concerning,” Mr Fett said.

“By dodging Commonwealth taxes [some of] these stores can sell loose tobacco for less than half the price of what legitimate retailers can charge, and still turnover a significant profit, which is having a huge impact on local supermarkets, convenience stores and tobacconists.

Currently, there are no legal tobacco manufacturers in Australia.

Illicit tobacco activity is a matter for a number of government departments, including Queensland Health, the Australian Taxation Office, Department of Home Affairs and a number of police departments including border force and federal police.

The Morning Bulletin reached out to the various departments but none were able to provide a comment specifically about the Rockhampton store.

It is understood a complaint has been made to Queensland Health about a business in Rockhampton allegedly selling illicit tobacco and the government body is investigating the matter to see if any potential enforcement action is necessary.

“Retailers are understandably frustrated by the lack of action to shut these stores down across the state, they’re literally seeing customers walk out their door daily and aren’t sure who to turn to for help,” Mr Fett said.

“Queensland Police would be better suited to disrupting this sort of activity, but currently they don’t have the necessary powers that would make it simple for them to enter, search and fine stores selling illegal tobacco.

“Queensland is one of only two states that doesn’t have a tobacco licensing scheme meaning there’s nothing stopping these stores from popping up overnight.

“Introducing a licensing scheme which gives police the ability to issue significant on the spot fines to dodgy retailers would be a good first step and would provide some relief to local retailers that are banging their heads against a wall.”

Smoking is estimated to kill 15,000 Australians each year and to cost the economy and society $31.5 billion a year.

Around 12.8 per cent of Australians aged 14 years or older are daily smokers.

As it is not feasible for the Australian Government to ban tobacco, but there are a number of strict measures in place, including a ban on tobacco advertising.

This includes any writing, still or moving picture, sign, symbol, any audio message that promotes smoking or the use of tobacco products.

Australia was the first country in the world to introduce plain tobacco packaging, in an effort to deter smokers, as it restricts tobacco advertising, limits misleading packaging and increases the effectiveness of health warnings.

It was reported in 2016 there were more than 100,000 fewer smokers in Australia in the almost three years since the implementation of the packaging.