Four of Australia’s leading experts in tobacco control have united to call on the federal government to reduce the number of tobacco retailers and tackle illicit tobacco sales in a bid to drive down smoking rates. 

In a peer-reviewed commentary published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Professor Becky Freeman from the School of Public Health and member of the Charles Perkins Centre joined forces with other leading experts to address the explosion in tobacco retailers that has taken place across Australia in recent years. 

Professor Freeman said: “Fewer than 1 in 10 Australians smoke daily, yet cigarettes are sold on just about every street corner – in tobacconists, petrol stations, convenience stores and our local grocery shops. 

“Widespread availability is a key part of the tobacco industry’s marketing strategy. Australia’s tobacco market is oversupplied, under-regulated and out of step with community expectations. 

“Local communities, particularly parents, are sick of seeing tobacconists pop up everywhere. It’s time to shut the shops and cut the number of stores allowed to profit from this harmful product.” 

Co-author Dr Emily Stone, Respiratory Physician at St Vincents Healthcare, said that Australians should remember that all tobacco, regardless of whether it is illicit or legal, is lethal.  

“Headlines about illicit tobacco are distracting us from the harsh truth – smoking still causes around 66 Australian deaths every day,” Dr Stone said. “It’s a leading cause of cancer, heart disease, lung disease and numerous other health conditions. It's unacceptable that tobacco is widely available. 

“Australia’s priority must be to continue to drive down smoking rates, provide evidence-based support for smokers to quit, and protect children and teens from nicotine addiction.”

Over the last two years, New South Wales and Victoria have introduced tobacco licensing schemes and harsh penalties for those who break the rules, but enforcement remains a challenge. 

Anita Dessaix, Director of Prevention and Advocacy at Cancer Council NSW, said: “The sale of illegal tobacco undermines decades of public health progress. New tobacco licensing schemes offer an opportunity for governments to change where this lethal product is allowed to be sold.

"We need all levels of government to apply a gold standard of tobacco sales regulation. Reducing the number of retailers licensed to sell tobacco products will make monitoring and enforcement of illegal tobacco sales easier, while also helping to further lower smoking rates,” she said.

Associate Professor Raglan Maddox from the Australian National University said that reducing retail availability is a well-recognised tobacco control strategy. 

“Australians understand that cigarettes kill,” Associate Professor Maddox said. “Most Australians don’t want to smoke and don’t want younger generations to become addicted. Most people who smoke want to quit, but that is harder when retailers are making cheap cigarettes easily available on every street corner. Reducing the number of retailers exploiting communities is the next logical step for Australia’s tobacco control journey.”

Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin, CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, said that all levels of government should listen to the evidence and voices of public health experts, and not let industry or criminals influence tobacco decisions. 

“It’s been 75 years since historic research showed that tobacco causes cancer,” Adjunct Professor Slevin said.

"I have no sympathy for tobacco retailers, criminals, or the industry that continues to sell this addictive product. They are knowingly profiting from the predictable death of their customers.

“Australia is a tobacco control success story. We've slashed smoking rates and are world leader for this. This has been achieved in the face of aggressive and heavily funded opposition from the tobacco industry, every step of the way. 

“We must continue to reduce the tobacco market by reducing smoking rates, which will reduce the preventable health carnage. This will also shrink the illicit market. Let’s aim for a future where Australians are free from tobacco- and nicotine-addiction.”

Research

Dessaix, A., Maddox, R., Stone, E., Freeman, B., ‘Policy incoherence: Leadership needed to combat illicit tobacco and end tobacco oversupply’ (Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 2025) 

DOI: 10.1016/j.anzjph.2025.100278

Declaration

Professor Freeman received reimbursement of travel expenses to speak at Public Health Association of Australia events.

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