Laura Hunter and Danielle McMullen: dirty, dark and disturbing truth behind big tobacco's tax solution

When it comes time to judge the annual Dirty Ashtray awards, exposing the grubbiest tactics of those in Big Tobacco, it’s always hard to pick from a packed field of contenders when their bottom line is to profiteer from tobacco and nicotine addiction. This year the nominees have outdone themselves. As Australia works hard to strengthen tobacco laws, industry players are stepping up their game by rebranding as good corporate citizens who propose a smoke-free (not nicotine-free) future. The industry has been relentless in their calls for a reduction in the tobacco excise as a way to stamp out illegal trade. This tactic is highly self-serving. Unfortunately it’s an idea that is being heard and amplified as if from a credible source and not dissected under the microscope to expose both vested interests and the deathly consequences for our community. No-one has spruiked this better than today’s Dirty Ashtray & Exploding Vape Award Winner 2025, British American Tobacco (BAT), with its highly polished campaign to pressure Australia to lower cigarette taxes and reframe regulation. Through extensive media appearances including generous front-page profiles in major newspapers and prime slots on national radio, BAT executives, in addition to their proxies, have put in overtime to shift the blame for Australia’s illegal tobacco trade onto public health policy itself and win over public opinion. According to them, strong public health policies and high taxes are the problem, and lower taxes are somehow the magical fix, claims at odds with independent evidence, but consistent with long-standing industry hymn sheets. Illegal tobacco, and everything it brings with it, is a complex issue. According to carefully framed media commentary, and the positioning of BAT the answer is lower cigarette taxes. This argument is now as familiar as it is misleading. That’s why it needs to be dismantled with some forensic analysis. The push to slash tobacco taxes sounds reasonable — until you look closer. Industry advocates claim it’s about fairness, but the reality tells a different story. If excise duties were cut to near zero, here’s what would happen: Big Tobacco regains lost ground. Smokers of cheap brands from smaller manufacturers would likely return to major companies. Consumption would rise. Lower prices mean more cigarettes smoked, boosting sales among existing customers. Profit margins for industry will grow. Wholesale prices might drop, but nothing stops companies from keeping retail prices high and pocketing the difference. And finally, the number of people quitting will inevitably stall. Cheaper cigarettes will make it harder for people to quit, locking in future profits. The equation is simple: more customers × more cigarettes × bigger margins = higher profits and deeper addiction. This narrative, dressed up as common sense, comes as 66 Australians die every day from smoking-related illnesses. Still think these industry voices are acting in your best interest—not theirs? As advocates, we have led the improved enforcement to combat illegal tobacco and vapes, but that is not a simple snap of the fingers. There are 40,000 outlets in this country servicing the eight per cent of Australians who smoke daily. Compare that to the 7000 service stations that provide petrol to the 70 per cent of Australians driving petrol cars or the 3000 major supermarket outlets providing food for all 27 million of us. One of the levers that can be used to improve enforcement would be to reduce this oversupply alongside strengthening licensing rules. Australia cannot let industry-shaped messages dictate the narrative at a time when stronger regulation is urgently needed. And that means rigorously interrogating who’s attempting to shape national policy and how they might benefit, and/or wreck decades of progress. We must reject simplistic tax-cut arguments, reshape the retail environment and strengthen enforcement — not to safeguard tobacco company profits as they intend, but to support the many people who smoke and want to quit, and to prevent young people from becoming addicted in the first place. An ashtray is by its nature one of the dirtiest, grimiest things around — hence why we chose it for our award title. It’s the place where health and happiness are stubbed out — a great metaphor for where industry finds its dark answers about how to stay in the black. Think of that next time you hear these good corporate citizens spruiking their “solution.” By Laura Hunter, CEO of the Australian Council on Smoking and Health and Dr Danielle McMullen, President, Australian Medical Association