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A 'huge' trade-off: One Nation's pitch for cheaper cigarettes (www.sbs.com.au)
submitted 3 weeks ago by to c/australianpolitics@aussie.zone
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[–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (14 children)

This is the only point that matters. Whatever the intention, the tax eventually failed. Somewhere in there was a point where the cessation of smoking planed out, then the vape ban did the rest. The black market really grew from then, to a point now where they’re being home delivered.

I’ve spoken to two cigarette smokers to get their anecdotal and they said they’d probably stop chasing BM cigarettes. Fortunately neither will vote for Hanson over it, but they’re under no doubt it’ll be a winner.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago (13 children)

    The tax is only failing due to the black market though isn't it?

    So the question is why aren't the government destroying the black market?

    With so many people buying black market cigarettes, it cannot be hard to make arrests, and trace sources.

    Smoking laws could also be significantly tightened to include no smoking in public at all, as a start.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (12 children)

    The tax is only failing due to the black market

    Doesn’t matter here, it’s exploitable for Hanson and will be even more so if they come down harder. Essentially though, you’re on the money.

    I’ll be honest, the way they have delivery and mail order set up, I’m not sure if they can stop it now. They haven’t been able to lay a glove on it locally, I know this through the smokers I know. They can’t close the door of the local one because it takes phone numbers and there’s nothing to bust. The pickup times are 9-10pm at night, and some deliver as mentioned earlier.

    It was always low hanging fruit. I told my smoker friends a month ago she’d do this. It’s money for jam.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (10 children)

    makes you wonder what the next trick will be

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago (9 children)

    Yeah, it does now that you mention it. They’ve covered online, phone and home delivery. The local distributors have a few locations as drop off zones. It’s a pretty tight ship.

    There’s not a thing they can do about the shop down the road taking numbers. They can search it as much as they like but they’ll find nothing but papers, filters…all of which are good.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (8 children)

    I worked for a business with an unusually high number of smokers last year, they were all buying black market cigarettes, apparently directly from a shop up the road.

    "The shop down the road taking numbers" can be used to infiltrate the supply and distribution, if the police want to. Place an order, track the delivery vehicle back to their pick up location etc

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago (7 children)

    Yeah possibly. They’re pretty sharp though, the police would want to be good undercover.

    But yeah one of the weaknesses is the search and seizure powers being within the health department and not coppers

    The coppers are buying illegal vapes

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

    I was tempted to include a comment about the police not having racist moustaches etc, but I'm guessing the police look and act a lot like the customers anyway.

    If black market tobacco is illegal, then the police need the power to stop it, if they have not been given that power, the question should be 'why?' If they have the power and are not using it, the question should be 'why?'

    I was also tempted to suggest the police are not stopping the trade because it is where they get their winnie blues from.

    At this point in time I am expecting 90% of the police are likely to vote for one nation, mcdonalds, zionism, or pedophile trump.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

    Yeah we definitely need to be asking why it’s not the police. It is like it’s made to be abused easily.

    From what I understand, they’re happy to turn up in uniform. I went and picked up a carton for one of those I live with who smokes a month or so ago (a phone pickup) and one of those in line I was talking to was a uniformed council office worker and he said he was in line with two off duty cops in their lapel and badge less blue uniform the week before. They bought a handful of vapes.

    Either way it’s pumping around here, for a rural Queensland city we do not struggle at all for BM darts.

    Just do a search…punch in ozvape into your search engine

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

    Basically as expected.

    So now it has to be assumed that the majority of smokers in Australia are not just dickheads, but are also criminals.

    Being a dickhead is obviously far from illegal in Australia, but being a criminal...

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago (3 children)

    Well I think that’s a bit harsh, giving it up isn’t easy. The two smokers I’m close to certainly aren’t dickheads and it was being frightened by losing my legs made me give up, not the money. I’d like to think I’m not a dickhead but I guess that’s subject to opinion.

    At the end of the day, these laws just don’t work and we see that here in action. It’s wraparound services and support that’s what’s really needed. Only one form of quitting aid is on the PBS and that’s the full strength patch.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago (2 children)

    Dropping down the strength of cigarette is the easiest way to quit smoking, it only takes part of a pack to adjust to the lower strength, and by repeatedly doing that over time you are reducing your physical dependence on nicotine (only a part of the addiction).

    I started smoking when I was 12, and stopped when I was 34.

    I might still be a dickhead, but I was much more of a dickhead when I was smoking, just like your friends... and anyone who buys cigarettes for them.

    Smoking is very obviously stupid.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    That method partly contributed, yeah, but at the end of the day it was the fear of losing my life. I enjoyed smoking cigarettes, I found it relaxing.

    Yeah I wouldn’t call them dickheads, even yourself previously. A dickhead is someone who is an arsehole generally and to others.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago

    Different people use different words differently, I call albo a bogan (among many other things) other people obviously wouldn't.

    smoking is definitely a dickhead thing to do, it kills you, it stinks, its antisocial, a very large proportion of smokers litter, it's stupidly expensive, it's a fire risk, a distraction while driving etc etc, and you will end up looking like pauline hanson if you do it long enough, every single smoker will end up looking like pauline hanson, and she is a complete dickhead. I rest my case.

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