The Age reported that a carton of Manchester Blue, a commonly used illicit cigarette brand, was delivered to its Docklands office for about $15 for a packet of 20, compared with a legal pack that usually sells for between $40 and $50. The site offered bulk discounts, express delivery and payment through PayPal, credit card, Apple Pay and bank transfers. Order updates came via WhatsApp, with tracking through Australia Post. Some of the websites had hundreds or thousands of reviews on sites such as TrustPilot, going back months.
Victoria's illicit tobacco market is considered one of the largest, most lucrative and most violent in the country. So far, authorities have shut down 62 tobacco shops selling illicit products or operating without a licence, mostly in Melbourne's CBD and the Stonnington Council area. Sellers have responded with workarounds, including selling only on weekends, hiding stock in disguised boxes, keeping stockpiles in the boots of vehicles, and offering local delivery from shops in the inner north.
Associate professor of criminology at Deakin University James Martin said the pivot to online retail and home delivery has been fast-moving. "Black markets are inefficient, but they're really resilient, and they're highly adaptable," he said. "You just get constant displacement or balloon effects happening."
Australians spend $8.5 billion a year on illicit nicotine, and online sellers are also using paid advertising on Meta's Facebook and Instagram. The reporter was initially served a Facebook ad, and after interacting with it, dozens of similar advertisements flooded his social media feeds. The owners of the page used were located in Ireland and Vietnam. Advertising tobacco or nicotine products is illegal in Australia. In September, a Meta spokesperson said ads for tobacco and vapes were not allowed, but the company would not refund ads that had already run.
The trade has reopened a national debate over cigarette excise. "I can't see a future where the illicit market is under control at the current legal cigarette prices," said Edward Jegasothy, a senior lecturer at Sydney University's school of public health. One Nation and the Coalition have proposed cutting the tobacco tax by 75 and 80 per cent respectively, an idea supported by some public health experts, academics and economists. The Cancer Council, the Australian Medical Association and Quit argue a cut would increase smoking rates and enrich big tobacco companies, and instead want stronger border controls, licensing laws and fewer licensed tobacco shops.