DP has pointed out to me that British American Tobacco have launched a discounted brand “Just Smokes” just before the plain packaging legislation comes into operation. The brand name has a generic sound to it consistent with the future market environment. It might be expected that the other 3 large cigarette manufacturers in Australia will follow suit. The discounting is substantial – about 30% – with BAT claiming that it is to offset the surge in illegal sales identified in the factoid -rich report of Deloittes. More plausibly it represents an understanding that smokes in Australia will become a commodity with the new legislation – of course a 30% cut in prices should be matched by a 30% increase in the cigarette excise. The legal carcinogen suppliers must understand that the policy objective is to cut smoking and that attempts to thwart this by discounting will be strenuously resisted.
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You mean an industry forced to compete on price is starting to compete on price? Madness!
“The legal carcinogen suppliers must understand that the policy objective is to cut smoking”
But just last month you said it was to “seek to consign this industry rather than a new generation of smokers to an early graveyard.”
Plain packaging is a pretty good way to achieve the latter (and infantilise the public, of course, after all people are so stupid they can’t control themselves once they’ve been exposed to certain colour schemes).
But if cutting smoking is really the objective why not expend your energy advocating on behalf of snus and e-cigarettes? You know, things that actually work.
“attempts to thwart this by discounting will be strenuously resisted.”
Those involved in the illicit tobacco trade must love you.
harry – I’ve ever seen any convincing evidence of an “illegal” tobacco trade of any real substance. Sure I’ve seen a bit of chop chop here and there but its pretty local and insubstantial.
FXH, the Deloitte Report has been widely criticised for being exaggerated. Its a natural defence on their part.
Yes Harry Prohibition never happened. All exaggerated of course.
The quality of chop chop tends to be very poor and most people I know who have tried it quickly went back to legit cigarettes.
I also see you’re still being trolled by libertarian nutters.
Yes, Mel the traffic is light so I let it go. They are nutters – their claims don’t make sense
I have a mate who smoked chop chop for years. I’ve tried it as an occasional smoker. It’s alright but naturally (small pun) it varies from batch to batch.
I even have an amusing story of being offered chop chop and heroin at a nearby railway station shopping centre. In the same way by similar looking people. Gave me a good laugh.
There nothing against growing your own tobacco and you can cure it ok without any great industrial complex or knowledge. But most people are lazy. In fact it’s less complex than making beer.
I’m happy for people to grow chop-chop instead. Even if a fair bit enters the market, it’s still going to be vastly more difficult to get than something from the supermarket, especially for 16 year olds.
Probably true Conrad but their are specific health issues in using improperly cured chop chop. Its a tradeoff.