Big tobacco is exploiting fears of the illicit market to unwind health gains, Australian experts warn
Health organizations in Australia are warning that the tobacco industry is manipulating public debate to advocate for significant cuts to tobacco excise taxes. This comes amid a parliamentary inquiry that included secret testimonies from Philip Morris executives. Experts argue that reducing taxes would not address the issue of illicit tobacco sales and could lead to increased smoking rates and health risks.
- ▪Cigarettes kill 66 Australians every day, according to health organizations.
- ▪A coalition of 15 health organizations, including the Cancer Council, criticized the tobacco industry's push for tax cuts.
- ▪The inquiry into illicit tobacco sales has faced backlash for allowing secret testimonies from tobacco executives.
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| Original publisher | World news | The Guardian |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/18/big-tobacco-is-exploiting-fears-of-the-illicit-market-to-unwind-health-gains-australian-experts-warn |
| Publication time | Sun, 17 May 2026 15:00:44 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-17T15:23:20.730Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-17T15:43:56.866Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Cluster logic | Grouped by semantic title/content similarity across sources within a rolling window. Same-publisher template collisions are excluded from coverage comparison. |
| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
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Health organisations accuse the tobacco industry of trying to reshape public debate in Australia to push for big cuts to government excise. Photograph: Peter Dazeley/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenHealth organisations accuse the tobacco industry of trying to reshape public debate in Australia to push for big cuts to government excise. Photograph: Peter Dazeley/Getty ImagesHealthBig tobacco is exploiting fears of the illicit market to unwind health gains, Australian experts warnCigarettes kill 66 Australians every day, coalition says, criticising MPs who heard evidence from Philip Morris in secret Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Tom McIlroy and Krishani DhanjiSun 17 May 2026 11.00 EDTLast modified on Sun 17 May 2026 11.02 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on…
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