They’re being smuggled into the country and criminals are making millions selling them on Facebook Marketplace and construction sites. All over the place. And you probably don’t have to go far to find a dairy selling them, either.
That figure has been put out by the tobacco industry in New Zealand. Although, there was an expert saying this morning that he reckons it’s not quite as bad as the tobacco companies are saying.
Either way - whatever the figure actually is - there are smokers balking at the cost of a packet of cigarettes and pouches of tobacco and they’re quite happy to buy the illegal stuff.
And I reckon the time has come to have a re-think about how we’re dealing with cigarette smoking.
Because the approach that’s been taken so far - aside from treatment programmes and all that - has largely been about punishing people in the pocket if they want to smoke.
More and more taxes, to the point where people are paying a small fortune. And, if we want to try and reduce the amount of illegal tobacco trading going on, then I think we need to think whether piling more tax on tobacco is worth it.
I don’t think it is. I’m not saying that we should make cigarettes cheaper - but I don’t think we should make them more expensive than they are now.
Because, if we do, then the illegal trade is going to grow even more and that will mean less tax revenue for the Government through the legitimate tobacco market.
The thing too about not adding more taxes to ciggies and tobacco, is that it would still keep the price out of the reach of people like teenagers. People who could become the next generation of smokers.
I was talking to someone who said their partner used to make a special trip into town to buy tobacco from a dairy in Christchurch that was selling pouches that were about $20 cheaper than what the legitimate stuff was going for.
And they were saying that their partner would go into the dairy, ask if they had any of the cheap stuff and, sure enough, reach into the drawer and out it would come.
It was worth the drive into the city to get it, apparently.
Customs is saying today that these groups are bringing truckloads of the stuff into the country - mainly by sea - using what customs describes as “sophisticated smuggling tactics similar to the tactics used by drug smugglers".
It says they are serious criminals. Not just opportunists having a go because they’re worried about the price of tobacco”.
The expert from Auckland University who was on Newstalk ZB this morning says the solution is getting more people off smoking.
I agree. But I also think that’s your ideal scenario kind of thing.
Which is why I think the time has come to stop piling more taxes on cigarettes and tobacco. It’s done its job. Making cigarettes more and more expensive is just going to feed demand for the illegal stuff.
Which is ripping us off. Because with every packet of illegal cigarettes sold, there’s no tax revenue. Money that we could all benefit from.
And why would we continue to let that happen?
John MacDonald is the Canterbury Mornings host on Newstalk ZB Christchurch. This article was first published HERE
Either way - whatever the figure actually is - there are smokers balking at the cost of a packet of cigarettes and pouches of tobacco and they’re quite happy to buy the illegal stuff.
And I reckon the time has come to have a re-think about how we’re dealing with cigarette smoking.
Because the approach that’s been taken so far - aside from treatment programmes and all that - has largely been about punishing people in the pocket if they want to smoke.
More and more taxes, to the point where people are paying a small fortune. And, if we want to try and reduce the amount of illegal tobacco trading going on, then I think we need to think whether piling more tax on tobacco is worth it.
I don’t think it is. I’m not saying that we should make cigarettes cheaper - but I don’t think we should make them more expensive than they are now.
Because, if we do, then the illegal trade is going to grow even more and that will mean less tax revenue for the Government through the legitimate tobacco market.
The thing too about not adding more taxes to ciggies and tobacco, is that it would still keep the price out of the reach of people like teenagers. People who could become the next generation of smokers.
I was talking to someone who said their partner used to make a special trip into town to buy tobacco from a dairy in Christchurch that was selling pouches that were about $20 cheaper than what the legitimate stuff was going for.
And they were saying that their partner would go into the dairy, ask if they had any of the cheap stuff and, sure enough, reach into the drawer and out it would come.
It was worth the drive into the city to get it, apparently.
Customs is saying today that these groups are bringing truckloads of the stuff into the country - mainly by sea - using what customs describes as “sophisticated smuggling tactics similar to the tactics used by drug smugglers".
It says they are serious criminals. Not just opportunists having a go because they’re worried about the price of tobacco”.
The expert from Auckland University who was on Newstalk ZB this morning says the solution is getting more people off smoking.
I agree. But I also think that’s your ideal scenario kind of thing.
Which is why I think the time has come to stop piling more taxes on cigarettes and tobacco. It’s done its job. Making cigarettes more and more expensive is just going to feed demand for the illegal stuff.
Which is ripping us off. Because with every packet of illegal cigarettes sold, there’s no tax revenue. Money that we could all benefit from.
And why would we continue to let that happen?
John MacDonald is the Canterbury Mornings host on Newstalk ZB Christchurch. This article was first published HERE
6 comments:
This is hilarious.
The amount of pompous indignation about the illegal tobacco trade.
And none of it concerned with the health issues and the costs it has on society.
Purely aimed at loss of tax revenue and the supposed "ripping us off".
This was always going to be an entirely predictable outcome from when the "nanny state" imposed their will.
The lesson that should have been learned way back in the days of alcohol prohibition is that if you make smokes and booze harder to access either through diminished supply or extortionate pricing, you create a smuggling and black market network which is likely to diversify into far more dangerous drugs and other goods (e.g. small firearms).
Tax the smokes the same as any other consumer product and let smokers puff away to their heart's content. According to the official stats, smokers die 14 years earlier than non-smokers so that saves the state umpteen dollars in aged care. It's almost tempting to make a case for tobacco being subsidised to encourage people to smoke and thereby die younger.
I was a roll-your-own smoker for 55 years and my wife was for 47 years (coincidentally as long as we had been together by then - I started each day by rolling 30 ciggies for her - now there's true love). We spent most of our lives in developing countries with cheap baccy. Just before returning to NZ in 2021 to retire we were smoking a nice medium-strength Turkish blend for about NZ$4 per 50g pouch. When I discovered that a pouch of Port Royal was up to $110 (now $140 I gather), we decided to quit. It was dead easy as we had a 2-day journey back followed by a week in quarantine - 9 days of enforced tobacco abstinence (preceded by 3 days in the last hotel we were at before flying out to accustom to the withdrawal shock). Every time I get cravings I think of all that money going to the government and from them to gangs and solo's and all the other things I despise, and the cravings go away.
But if we win Powerball, we'll be back on the baccy the next day, if not the same day.
Simple - increase the penalties to 500% of tax/duty evaded and beef up Customs & enforcement. Problem will be solved in less than a year.
Customs excise has always been about the money. If it wasn't for all the wowsers and do-gooders, governments could get more money by reducing tax an alcohol and tobacco, sell a lot more and get more revenue overall. People would die earlier saving hospital and rest home expenses. Simple economics
Good stuff Barend.
If I win Powerball, I'm off out of the country.
I have a bad feeling that nothing will stop the inevitable destruction of the country we once had, apart from major civil unrest and disobedience.
A patient recently talking to me where i work said contraband cigs ftom Japan were $20 a pack to those in the know at a coastal town hotel in Taranaki. About half the price in the legal market.
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