Labor wants daily smoking rates in Australia to below 10 per cent by 2025, and to 5 per cent or less by 2030.
A packet of 25 cigarettes will cost nearly $50 after Labor announced the excise on tobacco products would be increased by 5 per cent a year over the next three years, providing a $3.3 billion boost to the federal budget.Health Minister Mark Butler
The change comes as the federal government tries to push entrenched rates of daily smoking in Australia to below 10 per cent by 2025 and to 5 per cent or less by 2030. Mr Butler said much of the extra revenue would be spent in the health system, with $63 million going to a new public health campaign to discourage Australians from taking up vaping and smoking, while also encouraging more people to quit.
Mr Butler also flagged much stronger action around vaping rules, promising to spend a quarter of a billion dollars to avoid a new generation of nicotine addiction.The federal government will seek the support of the states to ban the sale of vapes in convenience stores and other retail settings, while making it easier to get a prescription for legitimate therapeutic use.“We are not blaming the customers,” Mr Butler said.
“The government has again stared down Big Tobacco. All companies wanted to be able to sell these products through cooperative retail outlets with years of form in selling tobacco and illegal vapes to kids,” he said.
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