Former top medical officer calls for cut to tobacco taxes
Dr Nick Coatsworth, former deputy chief medical officer, has called for a reduction in tobacco taxes, arguing that high excise rates have fueled a multibillion-dollar illegal tobacco market controlled by organised crime. He described the current situation as a "whole of government policy failure" and urged a shift toward more realistic tobacco control policies. Coatsworth maintains that while reducing smoking remains important, policy must also uphold the rule of law and public trust.
- ▪Up to 60 per cent of cigarettes sold in Australia are from illegal sources, according to Dr Nick Coatsworth.
- ▪The illegal tobacco trade has been linked to over 200 firebombings, multiple shootings, murders, and a terror attack.
- ▪Coatsworth argues that high tobacco taxes have stopped reducing smoking and instead created profitable conditions for organised crime.
- ▪He will present his views to a Senate inquiry, challenging long-standing tobacco tax policies.
- ▪Current tobacco control strategies have "lost their way," Coatsworth says, despite past public health successes in reducing smoking rates.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Sydney Morning Herald.