A new report is sounding the alarm on the illicit tobacco trade. 

The Retail NZ report points to the growing black market, which drives crime, undermines public health efforts, and reduces tax revenue.  

A quarter of smokers are using illicit tobacco, with most sourced from China and the Middle East.  

Australia has faced similar issues, former Senior Australian Federal Police Detective Rohan Pike telling Mike Hosking that in the last three years it’s turned from a large underground market to open air violence. 

He says there’s murders, drive-by shootings, extortions, and firebombings. In addition, Government revenue has dropped from $16.5 billion six years ago to just $5 billion, with illicit cigarettes making up about 80% of the Australian market.  

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