More than 5.5 million illegal cigarettes, 2.5 tonnes of loose tobacco and 30,000 vapes were seized in Tasmania over the past year, the state government says.
The haul was displayed at the Launceston Police Station on Tuesday as ministers outlined new enforcement laws and criticised the federal tobacco excise.
Police Minister Felix Ellis said illegal tobacco had become “a huge cash cow for people who use violence and intimidation across our community”.
He said organised crime controlled about 80% of the national tobacco market, with profits used to fund other criminal activity.
Detective Inspector Troy Morrisby from Tasmania Police’s Crime and Intelligence Command said the money paid for illicit drugs and firearms.
Tasmania had seen less tobacco-related violence than mainland states, he said, but products sold locally still helped fund crime elsewhere.
“We are working closely with all our partners to ensure that doesn’t occur in Tasmania,” Morrisby said.
The seizures led to more than 200 fines totalling $185,740, while about five times as many cigarettes were seized as in the previous year.
Around 15% of Tasmanian adults smoke, down from more than 23% in 2007-08, but smoking still kills an average of 559 people in the state each year.
Health Minister Bridget Archer said new laws passed by parliament would allow authorities to shut shops selling illegal products and impose tougher penalties.
The government also plans to consolidate the state’s tobacco, vaping and nicotine laws into a single act.
Ellis described the federal tobacco excise as “a disaster area”.
Excise is now $1.53 per cigarette, adding more than $30 in tax to a pack of 20 and pushing the average price towards $50. Illegal packs can sell for half that or less.
Ellis said the tax was fuelling organised crime, reducing government revenue and driving up smoking rates, while hurting those who could least afford it.
“Tasmania will continue to do our work on law enforcement, but we need the federal government to do more to end effectively the economic prohibition that is driving this problem across our country,” Ellis said.
Asked about federal claims that cutting the tax would make little difference because illegal tobacco would remain cheaper, Archer said “all options should be on the table”.
The federal government has resisted calls to cut the excise, arguing lower prices would encourage more people to smoke.
Nick Bunker, the Department of Health’s director of environmental health, said the new powers would not change how officers seized illegal products but would make it easier to close stores.
The state’s tobacco control team has six staff.
The laws allow authorities to immediately close stores for up to 90 days, while the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) can order longer shutdowns for repeat offenders.
Archer said the laws were expected to receive royal assent within weeks and could then be used.
