Queensland is leading Australia’s fight against illicit tobacco. Should other states follow suit?

David Gray/AFP via Getty Images Not a week goes by without a news story about illicit tobacco in Australia, which is now a serious problem across the country.

This week, the federal government announced an additional A$2.7 million in funding for Queensland to support ongoing illicit tobacco control efforts in the state.

The announcement featured trends in monthly legal tobacco sales from major retailers in the past financial year.

The data show a massive increase in legal sales in Queensland, jumping 55% in December 2025 compared to July 2025.

The figures showed the national market remained steady across the same period.

These findings suggest that, in Queensland, a large proportion of consumers who had previously switched to the illicit market, switched back to buying their tobacco legally at the end of 2025, but this trend was not replicated across the country.

What’s Queensland doing? The Australian Council on Smoking & Health states Queensland’s multi-pronged approach to illicit tobacco control is the best in the country .

Australian Council on Smoking and Health It includes investment in the largest enforcement team per capita in Australia and strong penalties for retailers found selling illegal tobacco or vaping products.

These penalties include large fines, the power to immediately close stores for three months, empowering landlords to end leases, and penalties for landlords who turn a blind eye to illegal sales from their leased premises.

The jump in legal sales in Queensland followed an enforcement blitz in November and December 2025.

What about other states and territories? Research published this week outlines how other states and territories are strengthening their laws to deal with the illicit tobacco trade.

Some have been much slower in doing so and invested less in their enforcement workforce than Queensland did.

For example, Victoria only started enforcement activities in February 2026.

Its initial enforcement team consisted of only 14 officers .