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<\/p>\nLast year, you could walk into one of several tobacconists in a busy Gold Coast shopping precinct and buy a vape or a carton of illicit cigarettes over the counter.<\/p>\n
But in November, these tobacconists, along with about 150 other shops, were given three-month shutdown orders during a statewide crackdown by Queensland Health.<\/p>\n
Public health researchers say Queensland’s laws have resulted in a “very notable decrease” in such retailers selling illicit tobacco and vapes.<\/p>\n
But the convenience store sector, which has seen demand for legal cigarettes fall sharply, warns the black market has been adapting beyond the shop front.<\/p>\n
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Retailers on the Gold Coast had previously openly advertised the sale of vapes. (ABC Gold Coast: Dominic Cansdale)<\/p>\n
‘A marked difference’<\/p>\n
Queensland Health has issued 275 closure orders since November last year, with about 40 per cent of retailers subsequently evicted.<\/p>\n
Landlords who knowingly lease their properties to tenants supplying illicit tobacco and vapes can face a maximum penalty of $161,300 and one year in jail.<\/p>\n
Research fellow at the University of Queensland’s School of Public Health, Cheneal Puljevic, said there has been a “marked difference” in the availability of illicit tobacco or vapes.<\/p>\n
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Boxes of suspected illicit tobacco and vapes were seized from stores in Bundaberg in November last year. (ABC News: Johanna Marie)<\/p>\n
“For a long time, there was virtually no penalty associated with selling these products,” she said.<\/p>\n
“You could very brazenly sell illicit tobacco and vapes without any kind of consequence and just make an awful amount of profit.”<\/p>\n
Dr Puljevic’s team has been monitoring the sale of illicit products for three years and has noted retailers have moved online in recent months.<\/p>\n
“We’re seeing retailers giving out details to trusted customers to say, ‘Phone this number and someone will home deliver the products to you or join this WhatsApp group’,” she said.<\/p>\n
“But to go from being able to buy these products in every suburb at every tobacconist, to needing to call someone to arrange for them to deliver, it’s a lot harder and a lot of people are hesitant to buy online.”<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Queensland Health said it was aware retailers were changing business tactics.<\/p>\n
“[We] will continue to work closely with partner agencies to monitor and target these operators,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
“We are also considering options to pursue court action, including 12-month closures, on several matters where investigations are ongoing.”<\/p>\n
But then a ‘flow back’<\/p>\n
Australian Association of Convenience Stores chief executive Theo Foukkare said sales of legal tobacco products tended to improve after illicit retailers were shut down.<\/p>\n
But he said after about six weeks, customers “flow back” to online sales or other businesses moving into the illicit trade.<\/p>\n
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Paper flyers signposted around Burleigh Heads late last year advertised the delivery of illicit vapes. (ABC Gold Coast: Julia Andre)<\/p>\n
“We’ve heard of hairdressers, butchers. We’ve had people selling these from their houses with signs out the front. I’ve even had reports of a tyre shop,” Mr Foukkare said.<\/p>\n
A December 2025 report from the Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner estimated about half of all tobacco sales and 96 per cent of vape sales were illegal.<\/p>\n
“Legal tobacco used to contribute around 40 per cent of total in-store shop sales, excluding fuel,” Mr Foukkare said.<\/p>\n
“That number now is down across the whole country at around 18 per cent and in many instances, it’s now below 10 per cent.”<\/p>\n
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Theo Foukkare says tobacco sales in convenience stores are declining. (ABC News: Glenn Mullane)<\/p>\n
But Mr Foukkare said the rising tobacco excise had created “prohibition by price”, with illicit cigarettes up to five times cheaper than legal ones.<\/p>\n
That has tempted some legitimate stores to move into the illicit market, with four EzyMart convenience shops shut<\/a> over alleged sales of illegal tobacco and vapes in Sydney last week.<\/p>\n “Our view is the federal government needs to reduce excise by 50 per cent, which would make a legal packet around $25 in comparison to, on average, around $15 [for illicit]” Mr Foukkare said.<\/p>\n Tobacco taxes raised about $16 billion in 2020 but have been forecast to fall to $2.1 billion by June 2030.<\/p>\n
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