The latest tobacco control industry stupidity. Global prohibition of the entire tobacco and nicotine trade! Yes, despite 20% of the planet using a substance humans have enjoyed for at least 12k years, these geniuses really think they can do it! 🤪🤡 academic.oup.com/heapro/arti…

Tobacco Excise and Vape Restrictions: Has It Been Worth It? Australia cannot afford to keep confusing stubbornness with success. Let’s take a look at the maths, and assess the damage. Since early 2024, the federal government has committed more than $365 million to fighting illicit tobacco. Yet estimated tobacco excise losses reached $7.7 billion to $11.8 billion in 2024–25 alone. How long can taxpayers fund this game of whack-a-mole before Canberra rethinks the incentives feeding the black market? Meanwhile, the ABS estimates the quantity of nicotine consumed increased almost 40% between 2017 and 2025. That measures consumption, rather than the number of users, but it hardly supports a victory lap. The human cost is harder to calculate. The states emergency response budgets are being stretched by tens of millions as they put out fires, clean up burning youths and deal with the bodies of murder victims. Hundreds of suspected tobacco-war firebombings have turned neighbouring businesses into collateral damage. Owners who have never sold a cigarette face ruined livelihoods and insurance they cannot afford or even get. Children are being drawn into violence: a 13-year-old was recently critically injured in an alleged arson incident amid Melbourne’s escalating attacks. Criminals bear responsibility for their crimes. Governments bear responsibility for examining whether their policies help sustain the profits those criminals fight over. But doubling down on already doubled down on failed tobacco and vape policies and allowing this mess to continue puts blood on their hands! Smoking’s estimated toll of around 24,000 Australian deaths a year, roughly 66 a day demands policies judged by lives saved. That’s the KPI that is most disturbing. Yet it’s remarkably clear what the government should do to put an end to this level of stupidity that continues to result in some of the worst carnage Australia has ever experienced in modern history. Review the excise settings. Give adult smokers sensible, practical, regulated access to all lower-risk alternatives. Enforce age restrictions and target violent syndicates. When the response to every failure is another raid and another funding announcement, Australians deserve to ask: Has this been worth it and who is paying the price? Spoiler alert ‼️ You are paying for it!