Health groups say cheaper cigarettes and legal vape sales could lift

Cancer Council Australia and Quit have warned that plans to cut tobacco excise and legalise vaping products could reverse decades of declines in smoking and nicotine use in Australia.

The groups argue the proposals would make cigarettes and vapes more accessible and more affordable at a time when daily smoking has fallen to a historic low.

Recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2025 data shows daily smoking fell to 5.6% among people aged 14 and over, the lowest rate recorded in living memory.

Cancer Council Australia director of cancer control policy David Martin said the result followed decades of public health policy aimed at cutting death and disease caused by smoking.

He said, “Australia now has the lowest smoking rates we’ve ever seen. This is not the time to abandon the measures that have delivered those results.”

David Martin calls for stronger enforcement

Martin said tobacco policy should be judged by a simple test: whether it reduces nicotine addiction and smoking, or increases it. He also warned that 66 people will die on 3 September 2026 from smoking.

According to Cancer Council Australia and Quit, debate about tobacco policy has become too focused on tax revenue and illicit trade instead of the public health goal of preventing a new generation from becoming addicted to nicotine.

Martin rejected the argument that cheaper tobacco or a legal commercial vape market would solve the black market. He called instead for tighter control of supply, better policing, tougher penalties and action to disrupt organised crime.

Meanwhile, Quit medical lead Dr Liam Egan said Quitline is hearing from young people who are addicted to vapes and nicotine pouches and are struggling to stop.

Egan said, “We don’t want to make these harmful, addictive nicotine products easier to access at the very moment we should be doing everything possible to prevent another generation becoming hooked.”

Both organisations also warned that legalising and commercialising vaping products could push smoking rates back up after years of decline.

Cancer Council Australia and Quit issued the warning on 3 September 2026. They did not identify which specific proposal to cut excise or legalise vape sales they were responding to.

Related: Tobacco tax