Australia was once a global model for tobacco control, with smoking rates falling steadily for decades. But new evidence suggests that trajectory has reversed for the first time since the 1990s. The culprit, according to reporting in both the SMH and The Age, is a flood of cheap, illicit cigarettes that has undercut the country’s world-leading plain packaging and high taxation regime. It’s a sobering reminder that policy victories require constant vigilance — and that black markets can erode even the most celebrated public health achievements.
Walter Murrow
March 21, 2026
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