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Tag: enforcement

  • CAPHRA Tells Aussie Senate to Look at New Zealand

    CAPHRA Tells Aussie Senate to Look at New Zealand

    In response to recent announcements across Australia about increasing enforcement in its battle against illicit tobacco and nicotine products, the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) submitted evidence to Australia’s Senate directly comparing New Zealand and the Philippines—both with regulated vaping markets and declining smoking rates—to India and Thailand, where total bans have created underground markets with zero safeguards and rampant youth access.​ 

    CAPHRA said Australia and New Zealand are taking sharply different approaches to tobacco control, with contrasting outcomes reflected in recent data. New Zealand, which allows regulated access to vaping products alongside smoking-cessation support, has reduced adult daily smoking to 6.8%, among the lowest rates globally, while youth smoking has fallen to 3.2%, down from 19.2% a decade ago. Australia, by contrast, has maintained strict prohibitions on nicotine vaping products and focused heavily on enforcement against illicit tobacco, spending about A$157 million ($105 million) on policing and regulatory measures, including appointing a national illicit tobacco coordinator. Despite these efforts, authorities estimate Australia lost A$6.7 billion ($4.5 billion) in tobacco excise revenue in 2023–24, and the illicit tobacco market is valued at roughly A$4 billion ($2.7 billion).

  • Sri Lanka Cracking Down on Beedi to Boost Tax Revenue

    Sri Lanka Cracking Down on Beedi to Boost Tax Revenue

    Sri Lanka’s Excise Department warned that anyone transporting beedi leaves (i.e. cheap, flake tobacco) without official transport permits will face immediate legal action, as authorities move to tighten enforcement against illegal production. Deputy Minister of Economic Development U. D. Nishantha Jayaweera said enforcement has been lax in the past, but new instructions have been issued to strengthen controls. While current tax revenue from domestically produced beedi stands at around 1–1.5 billion rupees ($3.4 million to $4.8 million), he said proper tax collection could raise this figure to nearly 15 billion rupees ($48 million). The government plans to introduce new measures to boost revenue and curb the untaxed, illegal manufacture of beedi.

  • Australia Hoping Enforcement Will Curb Illicit Tobacco Crisis

    Australia Hoping Enforcement Will Curb Illicit Tobacco Crisis

    Western Australia is moving to significantly strengthen its response to the illicit tobacco trade, announcing the creation of a dedicated taskforce led by WA Police Superintendent Steve Post, newly appointed as the state’s “illicit tobacco czar.” The government says the initiative is a response to escalating criminal activity linked to illegal tobacco, including arson attacks, firebombings, and drive-by shootings targeting retail outlets across Perth and regional areas. Estimates suggest illicit cigarettes now account for at least half of Australia’s tobacco market, costing taxpayers up to A$11.8 billion ($7.9 billion) annually.

    The taskforce will sit within the Department of Health and draw on a mix of retired officers and serving police transitioning from frontline duties, to tighten compliance and enforcement under tougher tobacco laws currently being drafted. An initial A$5 million ($3.4 million) funding allocation will boost the Tobacco Compliance Unit to around 40 full-time equivalent staff, with new powers expected to allow authorities to immediately shut down non-compliant premises.

    The WA move mirrors intensifying crackdowns in other states, particularly New South Wales, where the Minns government has launched dozens of raids, confiscated illicit cigarettes and vapes, and issued 90-day and longer closure orders. However, industry observers and local governments warn that enforcement alone is struggling to keep pace with the scale of the black market, as, for example, law loopholes allow shuttered tobacco retailers to reopen nearby under generic “shop” or “retail premises” classifications, undermining enforcement efforts.

    Public policy critics and harm reduction advocates argue the crisis reflects deeper structural failures rather than a lack of enforcement. The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates has told a Senate inquiry that Australia’s illicit tobacco problem is the predictable outcome of restrictive policies that eliminated legal access to safer nicotine alternatives while demand persisted.