Big tobacco is exploiting fears of the illicit market to unwind longstanding health policies, leading health campaigners have warned, amid a parliamentary inquiry which took secret evidence from the cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris.<\/p>\n
A coalition of 15 health organisations including the Cancer Council and the Heart Foundation, as well as health experts and researchers, have accused the industry of trying to reshape public debate to push for major cuts to government excise.<\/p>\n
The inquiry into booming illicit sales attracted controversy this month when Guardian Australia revealed it had held a secret hearing for Philip Morris executives<\/a>, ending more than 15 years of precedent under Australia\u2019s participation in a World Health Organization agreement.<\/p>\n Executives warned that illegal cigarettes would wipe out legal products in Australia by 2030 and called for a cut to the tobacco excise to undermine criminal business models. Company representatives appeared in secret at the first committee hearing and their names were withheld from public transcripts.<\/p>\n But the group of health organisations, led by the Cancer Council, rubbished the claims and called it a \u201cdog whistle\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe industry is now using the rise of illicit tobacco to reshape public debate and to push for lower taxes,\u201d the group said. \u201cBut illicit tobacco is primarily an enforcement and health issue, not a tax one.<\/p>\n