Australia estimates that
illegal tobacco accounts for 50 to 60% of the country’s market share, and it could be as high as 75%.
In New Zealand, the report claims the illicit tobacco market share had grown from about 3.3% in 2010 to as high as 27% in 2024.
It includes a case study of a retail outlet in an Auckland community shopping precinct selling cigarette packs for $13 each, less than the $35-$50 current 20-packs are worth.
Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young told The Front Page that the speed at which the black market rose in Australia was rapid.
“So we just feel we’ve got this window of opportunity to actually shut the door before the horse bolts.
“If you sell vape products, you have to be registered and licensed. There’s a whole set of regulations that sit around there, but with tobacco, you don’t have to be yet. We know tobacco kills, and it can, and it does a lot of harm, and we’ve really outlined that in the report.
“The research at this stage is that vaping is much less harmful than tobacco. So, maybe there should be some sort of look at the alignment between how vaping is sold and how tobacco is sold,” she said.
Retail NZ argues for a multi-agency taskforce, funded by a ring-fenced tobacco excise tax, to align the response from Customs, health, police and Inland Revenue.
It also calls for a mandatory licensing regime for all tobacco wholesalers and retailers, while increasing investment in detection tools at the border.
Associate Health Minister Casey Costello, also the Customs Minister, said she recently instructed officials from the referenced agencies to assess how they could work in a more co-ordinated fashion.
“This report is welcome and timely – I agree with them that time is running out to stay ahead of the issue of illicit tobacco and organised crime," she said in a statement.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about:
- Links to organised crime
- Penalties and regulation gaps
- Consumer behaviour
- Retailers’ concerns.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5pm. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
