Australians are spending less to consume more nicotine as illegal tobacco trade explodes

Australians are consuming more nicotine than they were eight years ago but are spending less, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows, as 80% of the cigarettes smoked by the nation last year were cheaper illegal products. The analysis released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday showed the amount of nicotine consumed around the country soared by 40% between 2017 and 2025, despite population growth rising by just 14%. The ABS said the growth was driven by illegal tobacco and increases in e-cigarettes and other products. In 2017, only 12% of the total tobacco consumed was from illicit sources. By 2025, that had risen to 80%. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email More Australians accessing cheaper illegal products has resulted in the dollar value of household spending on cigarettes dropping to levels similar to those seen in 2016, the ABS analysis found. It said the cost of legal cigarettes had tripled since then, but the price of illegal tobacco products had remained relatively constant. The release of the figures marked the first time the ABS has provided estimates on illegal tobacco consumption, after it began developing methods to assess how the economic impact of the trade “would be conceptually treated” in Australia’s national accounts. It noted that the estimates, which were assisted by nicotine metabolite concentrations detected in wastewater samples, were experimental and the method and data sources could change. …