Get a licence or stop selling tobacco products; two choices for Victorian retailers as enforcement begins

From Sunday 1 February, any individual, retail or wholesale business found selling tobacco products without a licence could face hefty fines of up to $1.8M or up to 15 years’ jail time, as Tobacco Licensing Victoria rolls out enforcement.

Quit welcomes the introduction of the much-anticipated step in tighter tobacco control but remains concerned about the size of the scheme in relation to scale of the problem.

In Victoria, approximately 8,000 to 10,000 businesses sell tobacco products, while just 14 licence inspectors will be employed. National estimates suggest up to 55% of Australian tobacco sales are illicit[1] representing a market value of $5.6 billion nationally.

Rachael Andersen, Quit Director, flagged specific problems with the powers held by Tobacco Licensing Victoria inspectors.

“At Quit we’ve been calling for Victorian tobacco licensing for years. So, we’re pleased to see this crucial step forward. However, we have reservations about the limited powers of Victorian licensing inspectors, and the size of their workforce, with just 14 inspectors for the whole state. Under the Victorian scheme inspectors will be unable to close shops found selling illicit tobacco nor can they act against stores selling illegal vaping products.

“While this scheme sets the foundation for action on tobacco, it needs to be backed up with more power and more inspectors to better protect Victorians from the harms of tobacco,” Ms Andersen said.

Todd Harper AM, CEO Cancer Council Victoria, recognised the government’s willingness to act on tobacco and called out the sheer scale of harm caused by its use.

“We welcome a specialised tobacco licence enforcement workforce and scaled up severity of fines and jail time to act as deterrents for retailers considering doing the wrong thing.

“With enforcement about to get underway, we look forward to seeing benefits to the Victorian community as fewer retailers sell harmful, cheap, illicit tobacco. I remain hopeful that key improvements to the scheme can be made, and soon. We know smoking-caused illness still kills 66 Australians a day, and that’s simply too many lives lost to preventable death,” Mr Harper said.  

Increasingly Quit, alongside the broader public health community, is planning for a future where tobacco sales are further restricted. Afterall, most people who smoke or vape have a desire to quit[2].

“We need to get serious about supporting people to quit harmful nicotine products like cigarettes and non-therapeutic vapes, and the best thing we can do is have fewer shops selling these products. Licensing will help us with this ambitious, life-saving challenge. Now it’s time to put the resources behind it,” Ms Andersen concluded.

ENDS

Media Contact 
Prue Gildea Quit Media Manager M: 0400 394 274 E: prue.gildea@cancervic.org.au