Editor’s Note: Cross-posted from the Counterfeit Cigarettes: An Enforcement Forum.
From: The Australian
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Experts fear that even if the proposal is passed it will face mammoth difficulties in its implementation. A rule that renders cigarettes nearly nicotine-free would likely give rise to a black market in higher-nicotine tobacco, just as the Prohibition era in the US spawned a thriving market in moonshine.
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“Prohibition does not work for most things and there is sure to be an illegal supply of contraband tobacco provided by organised crime groups,” Mendelsohn says. “On the other hand, it may help to reduce uptake by young people, who are unlikely to get addicted.”