Government Have Created a Tobacco Black Market скачать в хорошем качестве

Government Have Created a Tobacco Black Market

Ostensibly, the Australian Government’s primary objective, like that of many other governments, is to “Keep Australians Safe”, “Stronger laws to keep Australians safe”, “Keeping Australians safe online”. Actually, I hate when politicians use that phrase, because it’s often used as a pretext to introduce new draconian laws and powers that increase government control over the population: “Extended Melbourne Lockdown To Keep Victorians Safe”, “Keeping Queenslanders safe”, “WA Liberals announce plan to Keep Western Australians Safe”. They all do it. Just trade in a few of your freedoms and the government will promise to keep you safe. But ultimately, it’s a mug’s game. Case in point: tobacco smoking. In 2006, the Australian Government mandated graphic health warnings on cigarette packaging trying to scare people to stop smoking. In 2012, Australia became the first country in the world to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products. You get the idea. Smoking is bad, and the Government is here to keep you safe. How? By increasing the price of tobacco, of course! Make it so expensive that people will just begrudgingly give up. But of course, as with many things the Government touches, the stated goal has somewhat backfired, or gone up in smoke, or whatever other smoke-related idiom you’d like me to use. What do you think happened when the Government made cigarettes unaffordable? Did everyone act like good little citizens and give up? Of course not! “Burning out: how Australia’s bid to cut smoking rates exploded into suburban tobacco wars.” Keeping Australians safe? It seems like the Government are just blowing smoke. Yes, the idioms keep coming. ABC’s premier investigative journalism program, Four Corners, ran an exposé on the underground tobacco industry: “Tobacco Wars”. They found that illegal tobacco is readily available, often sold for less than half the price of legal cigarettes. The high price of legal cigarettes has driven demand for cheaper, black-market alternatives, which has emboldened organised crime, resulting in arson attacks, extortion, violent feuds, and a significant hit to the Government’s coffers due to declining tax revenue and increased policing costs. Personally, I hate smoking, but I know a few people who do smoke, and they all buy illegal products. They simply cannot afford to buy legal cigarettes anymore, and paradoxically, for whatever reason, they find it hard to quit smoking in this dual cost of living / housing crisis. All of this was an obvious result of government policy, of course. I could have told you that. But they refuse to admit that their policies are directly responsible for the breakout in violence, stating that the solution to crippling Australia’s tobacco black market is to increase law enforcement and impose stiffer penalties, with Health Minister Mark Butler saying, “Increasing the price of cigarettes right across the world is recognised as one of the most important tobacco control measures.” They just don’t seem to get it. The Government also plan to mandate the printing of health warnings on every single cigarette by July 2025. “Poison in every puff”. I’d guess if the graphic images that they already have on every packet don’t dissuade people, I somehow doubt a short message will. So what can be done about all of this? How can we stop our leaders from doing smoking ceremonies? Sorry, I seem to be looking at the wrong notes there. How can we stop the smoking black market? There clearly is a problem: “Illegal tobacco set to overtake legal smoking”, “Illegal retailers shirk Australia’s world-first anti-vaping laws as black market surges”. Of course, the Government think they can just regulate their way out of this mess: “Chalmers was told his plan would fuel black market ciggies. He did it anyway”, “Retailers will soon need a licence to sell cigarettes”. Oh yes, that will work. As we all know, organised crime gangs always obey the law, and never illegally obtain licences. Outside the idealistic Government, most are claiming that tobacco prices need to drop to combat the black market. It’s the only way. “‘A national crisis’: Retailers urge government to reduce cost of cigarettes amid gang wars”. Even the ABC are asking, “Should the tobacco tax be reduced? MPs speak out as cigarette prices soar and illegal black market spirals 'out of control'”. Look, I don’t claim to know the answer, but clearly current Government policy is not working, despite them claiming that their tobacco regulations are the best in the world. But as they say, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Is this just a smoke screen to hide their incompetency? But one thing that is certain, the Government are clearly engaging in smoke and mirrors. Yes, that is my final smoke-related idiom. MUSIC Allégro by Emmit Fenn