State government to introduce new illicit tobacco laws

New laws could help crackdown on the illicit tobacco trade which has been taking hold of North Queensland.

Police may be given new powers to crackdown on illicit tobacco in Queensland.

As it stands, six government agencies are needed for a search warrant on a store suspected of selling illicit tobacco.

But a new bill is expected to streamline that multi-agency affair, stripping it down to Queensland Health, which can then ask Queensland Police for support.

This comes after months of campaigning from North Queensland tobacconists to crack down on the sale of illicit tobacco.

Industry experts from the region say it could be positive, as long as it did not impact “legitimate” business.

A spokesman for Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the bill would be introduced this week, however the exact date was not yet known.

Public Health Association of Australia chief executive adjunct professor Terry Slevin said all states must step up to play their role in proper local regulation and enforcement of the rules.

An example of illicit rolling tobacco bought in Townsville.

“All of these reforms are essential as we drive down smoking rates, particularly among children.”

The bill would also increase the number of smoke-free venues.

Illicit tobacco and cigarettes are widely available. Pictures: supplied

A 2019 National Drug Strategy Household survey found Queensland smoking rates went down by about one-third from 2001 to 2019.

The proportion of daily smokers decreased from 21 per cent to 13.5 per cent; that is about 600,000 people smoking daily in 2019, it says in the survey.

A North Queensland tobacco industry insider, Jane*, previously said that prior smoking laws had strengthened the illegal market.

Jane*, a woman in the North Queensland tobacco industry, said there were now nine illicit tobacco sellers in Cairns, and seven in Townsville.

She believed streamlining the enforcement to two agencies was a step in the right direction, as long as it did not make business more difficult for “legitimate” retailers.

It was not smoking laws that had reduced the number of smokers, it was the taxes, which had then in turn created the tobacco black market, Jane said.

She previously told the Bulletin shops were openly selling illicit tobacco in Airlie Beach, Ayr, Cairns, Innisfail, Mackay and Townsville.

Caucasian man smoking a cigarette

Illicit tobacco is grown in Australia but also imported.

In 2021-22, the Australian Taxation Office seized 78,000kg of tobacco, including 3,248,267 cigarettes, with a value of $127m. One conviction was recorded in that year.

As well as the ATO, Border Force, the federal Department of Health, the Department of Weights and Measures, the Australian Federal Police and Queensland Police are the other agencies currently involved in enforcing current laws.

Originally published as State government to introduce new illicit tobacco laws