Ballarat residents will be among the hardest hit by an increase in the tax on tobacco with federal government confirming a packet of cigarettes could rise to $40.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The federal government have confirmed it will adopt Labor’s hike in the tobacco excise as part of the 2016 Budget to be released on Tuesday night. The Budget is set to contain a 12.5 per cent annual increase in tobacco excise to 2020.
According to the Parliamentary Budget Office, the tobacco tax will raise $3.8 billion over four years, and $47.7 billion over 10 years.
However, the Treasury modelling of the tobacco tax hike - included in the budget papers - called into question Labor's claim the increase will pay for its funding promises, finding that it will only raise $2.3 billion over four years, and $28.2 billion over 10 years.
Ballarat resident Wayne Jones has been smoking cigarettes for more than 20 years. But he said the proposed tax hike would make him considering kicking the habit.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “If the price keeps going up I won’t be able to afford it any more.”
When he first started smoking in 1995, he paid just $2.50 for a packet of cigarettes. Now, Mr Jones is paying up to $20. He said he recently changed cigarettes brands and opted for a cheaper alternative following the most recent tobacco taxes.
“Like any addiction tobacco is incredibly hard for people to give up, especially if they have been smoking for years,” Mr Jones said. “I don’t agree with what the government is doing because my worry is that some people who can’t afford the tax may have to give up other stuff to afford it.”
The Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer estimates 13.3 per cent of Victorian adults smoked regularly. Health experts estimate Ballarat’s smoking rate hovers at about 20 per cent.
Repository nurse Genevieve Edwards who runs Ballarat Community Health’s Smoking Cessation Program said tobacco taxes could deter younger people from taking up smoking due to the high cost associated with buying a packet of cigarettes. But she feared those living below the breadline could be hardest hit.
“For people who are more heavily addicted to cigarettes it can creates a few issues,” she said. “We find some people will often go without the basic necessities and it can affect their ability to pay for things like their utility bills and food.”
Ms Edwards said the service was seeing an increase in people aged 50 to 60 years-old kicking the habit. “There are health benefits for quitting at any age in your life,” she said.
Quitline 137848
