Recent Australian tobacco policy has unfortunately been a battle between pro- & anti- harm reduction advocates with pro-HR winning all arguments but anti-HR policy being increased with tragic results. Betting against HR generally loses @jamomartin.bsky.social @aliveadvocacy.bsky.social

An eye-watering 34% increase in illicit drug consumption between 2023-24. Even more concerning, drug expenditure also actually decreased over that period. In other words, illicit drugs are getting cheaper. Time for a radical rethink about our heavy reliance on supply reduction.

A new study shows smoking and vaping rates increasing since the government's vape crackdown in 2024. A different strategy is needed.

The Drug Policy Alliance explains the Paradox of Prohibition. That is, the worst outcomes are achieved with either a totally unregulated free market or with prohibition. The least worst outcomes are achieved with a ‘Goldilocks’ (not too hot, not too cold) system of regulation. @sanho.bsky.social

Fiona Patten skewers abject failure of Australia’s tobacco & vape policies which slowed smoking decline, boosted violent black market, made multi billion dollar hole in government annual revenue & survives thanks to tsunami of disinformation @paulbongiorno.bsky.social www.smh.com.au/national/aus...

When Australia’s tobacco & vape policies failed, authorities doubled down on policies that didn’t work & can’t work. Restricting availability of safer vapes but keeping deadly cigarettes readily available always was insane @jamomartin.bsky.social www.aspistrategist.org.au/vapes-violen...

The curious case of the disappearing smoking data. The Roy Morgan release was unequivocal: smoking rates among young adults are up after vaping ban which had "demonstrably failed". And then it disappeared and was replaced with something more amenable. www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/health/...

Supply reduction (i.e., border control, law enforcement) is notoriously ineffective, expensive, and comes with a whole range of negative consequences that will likely make the problem worse, not better. Here is the full paper for those interested in a deeper dive: link.springer.com/content/pdf/...

‘A terrified tobacco runner was forced to tie up his friends and then bind his own feet, before Alameddine gangsters allegedly began cutting off his big toe in a horrific moment that illustrates how violence is part of doing business in Sydney’s gang wars’ www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

Australia risks losing ‘war on nicotine’ in same way as war on drugs as illegal tobacco sales explode

Renowned THR expert Prof. Riccardo Polosa et al raise serious concerns re flawed meta-analytic practices leading to exaggerated claims re health risks of vaping link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Great to see a new pill testing site in Fitzroy! Also worth noting that harm reduction remains grossly underfunded across Australia, receiving just 1.6% of total drug funding, despite its much great efficacy in reducing drug related harm than supply or demand reduction.

In denial. Australia unable to reduce illicit supply cigarettes & associated violence unless some reduction in excessive excise. Can’t arrest its way out @jamomartin.bsky.social @edjegasothy.bsky.social @aliveadvocacy.bsky.social @ianamossyd.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Check out the new paper from @edjegasothy.bsky.social and me - 'Fanning the flame: analysing the emergence, implications, and challenges of Australia’s de facto war on nicotine', now published in Harm Reduction Journal. Thread below with the key findings and link to open access paper. 🧵

And another two firebombings overnight in QLD, resulting in "potentially life-threatening" burns to 2 men. Police do not have the time or resources to control this. The economic forces of supply and demand are too great. Need to improve legal supply. www.news.com.au/national/que...

Clive Bates outlines dangers of e-cigarette [#vape] prohibition & illicit trade. Often tobacco controls supports vy strict restrictions, not quite complete ban but unintended effects like prohibition @jamomartin.bsky.social @edjegasothy.bsky.social #auspol clivebates.com/the-danger-o...

Gangland shootings in NSW. Arson attacks and extortion in Victoria. Just another week in Australia's ever worsening #tobaccowars. Anyone starting to think that the creeping prohibition of our 3rd most popular recreational drug (after caffeine & alcohol) is not the best idea?

Police have vowed to "find every single one of these crooks" with a new mega taskforce formed in response to a spate of underworld attacks to rock Sydney in the past fortnight.

It was the tax man that took down Al Capone, but it was ending Prohibition that ultimately killed the black market. Stiffening penalties for selling illicit nicotine might sound like a good idea but it's unlikely to work given the scale of the problem. www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

"The tobacco tax is a disaster playing out on our streets and in our budget" www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

Frustrating to read the 'a child could enforce this' arguments here. Vapes alone constitute the 2nd largest illicit drug market in the country. There is no feasible level of enforcement that can contain a black market of this size and profitability. www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

Coalition 100% right to accept Australia’s black market model vaping policy has been abject failure either requiring doctors prescription or buy from chemist. NZ realistic policy much better @aliveadvocacy.bsky.social @jamomartin.bsky.social @edjegasothy.bsky.social @ianamossyd.bsky.social

Some of the best reporting I've seen on this issue 👇

While headlines on the so-called tobacco wars focus on firebombings, extortion and gangland jealousies, skyrocketing government taxes on tobacco have long been fuelling the fire behind the scenes.

New paper reveals two key changes in vaping trends since the UK government announced plans to ban disposable vapes. 1. The rise in vaping prevalence has stalled, including among young adults. 2. People who vape are increasingly using reusable devices. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

How Australia’s sky high cigarette taxes & severely restricted vape availability produced inevitable mother of all black markets in cigs, tobacco & vapes complete with rising violence. Would you like some homicides with that? #auspol @jamomartin.bsky.social independentaustralia.net/politics/pol...

Victoria's tobacco wars have entered a lull as the Hamad's takeover of the market looks complete. Good news is violence has slowed. Bad news is even more profit for a ruthless organised crime group. What happens when police/rivals catch up to them? www.theage.com.au/national/vic...

Australia’s sky high cigarette tax & anti vaping jihad is daily not only getting more ridiculous & impossible to defend but especially hurting the low income & disadvantaged @m1ngthemerciless.bsky.social @richarddenniss.bsky.social @aliveadvocacy.bsky.social citynews.com.au/2025/why-doe...

Lethal contaminants now detected in black market vapes. This is where Australia’s misguided prohibition on consumer vapes has landed us. The government urgently needs to repeal the ban and facilitate access to regulated vaping products. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04...

Increased enforcement will NOT solve this problem. Why are we listening to the same people in tobacco control when 1) it was their unrealistic policies that created this mess and 2) they have no understanding of black markets or policing? This is a recipe for further disaster.

Just a quick update to this graph including tonight’s #Budget2025 outlook. The government still seems unrealistically optimistic that the tobacco tax will flatten out despite all evidence to the contrary.

Check out the new paper from @edjegasothy.bsky.social and me - 'Fanning the flame: analysing the emergence, implications, and challenges of Australia’s de facto war on nicotine', now published in Harm Reduction Journal. Thread below with the key findings and link to open access paper. 🧵

Outstanding op-ed by my colleagues @edjegasothy.bsky.social and @francismarkham.work on the dangers and lack of evidence surrounding Australia's tobacco taxes. Media outlets across the political spectrum now openly questioning this disastrous policy.

Excellent column. Is pretty clear the excise on tobacco has gone beyond being a disincentive to smoke to now just is an incentive to get smokes on the sly www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

So how are those sky high cigarette taxes workin’ for ya in Australia Simon? @mikedaube.bsky.social @publichealthaus.bsky.social @anzjph.bsky.social @drbfreeman.bsky.social @jamomartin.bsky.social @edjegasothy.bsky.social @ianamossyd.bsky.social

With so many victims of the War on Drugs, it's heartening to see Duterte - a real war criminal responsible for thousands of extra-judicial killings of drug consumers - finally facing justice at the International Criminal Court.

An extra $160 million for law enforcement is not going to solve this problem. With legal nicotine increasingly restricted - either through excessive tobacco taxes or misguided bans on vapes and pouches - people have little choice but to turn to the black market. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03...

Under "vaping horror" headlines, media amplified a study that was incomplete, unpublished and not peer-reviewed. Experts scrambled to limit the damage. But many readers who smoke will already have absorbed what was reported. Kiran Sidhu reports:

1/4 “Where there’s smoke there’s firebombing” 60 Minutes on Channel 9 2 March. Huge price gap: legal-illegal cigarettes. Low risk, high reward trade for criminal syndicates. Kazan Hamad is undisputed #1 Produces cig brand, smuggles & sells in Australia. Now lives in Iraq.

Thanks again to @vaada.bsky.social for the opportunity to provide a keynote presentation at their annual conference. For those interested, you can check out a recording here where I present a critique of Australia's War on Drugs and the emerging War on Nicotine. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8zm...

Police now believe the death of 27-year old Katie Tangey linked to the #tobaccowars in 'targeted attack at the wrong address'. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02...

How it started? NZ 2020 decided make safer vaping more available than deadly cigarettes. Australia continued keeping vaping more restricted than cigs. How it’s working? NZ smoking rates now lower than AU & AU’s 2nd biggest drug black market is vapes! @jamomartin.bsky.social @markbutler.bsky.social

Australian uni Vice-Chancellors are among the highest paid in the world. You'll be shocked (*shocked*!!!) to discover that higher pay does not lead to a better student experience. @jack-thrower.bsky.social writes #OffTheCharts australiainstitute.org.au/post/the-hig...

Another homicide linked to Australia's raging #tobaccowars. Sadly, our unrealistic and overly restrictive nicotine policies make these kinds of crimes inevitable. Expect more violence in the days and weeks to come. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...

A newly-opened tobacco shop in Southern Queensland has been gutted by two suspicious fires in less than 48 hours.

Will this exercise in futility ever stop ... A record 13-ton seizure of cocaine in Spain in mid-October is more evidence that the country has returned as Europe's main entry point after Antwerp and Rotterdam significantly improved security at their ports. insightcrime.org/news/spain-r...

People ‘much more likely’ to quit smoking via vapes than cold turkey or traditional NRT therapies. @lenoret.bsky.social any chance for republication in @australia.theguardian.com? Might usefully inform debate around Australia’s dysfunctional and overly restrictive nicotine control policies.

Research shows 37 new prisons have been built in Australia since 2000. But the evidence shows increased incarceration doesn’t help reduce crime.

Happy to see Ross Ulbricht finally released. Silk Road was not the cesspit it is often made out in news media. It had a non-violent charter, thriving political community, and was a creative attempt to reduce the risks associated with the illicit drugs trade. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...