Source: Radio New Zealand
123rf.com
As the country battles a budding black market for illicit tobacco, concerns are being raised that the issue is being overblown by interest groups.
RNZ has been investigating black-market cigarettes and tobacco being sold over the counter, without any of the mandated health warnings and for a fraction of the cost of retail brands.
Authorities are calling for a crackdown on those selling the smokes illegally, but say they still don’t know how big the market is.
Meanwhile, those with ties to the tobacco industry say the warnings must be heeded.
Retail NZ released its report on the illegal sale of cigarettes earlier this month, calling for a dedicated taskforce of health, customs, and police to address the issue.
The report estimates that over 27 percent of tobacco smoked in 2024 was illicit.
That figure, used in the Retail NZ report, was originally sourced from a separate 2025 report that was prepared for the exclusive benefit and use of Imperial Tobacco New Zealand and British American Tobacco New Zealand.
But Retail NZ said while its paid-up members include those companies, the report it released was researched and written independently by Retail NZ staff.
It said no tobacco manufacturer funded, commissioned, or directed the Retail NZ report, nor did they review or approve its content before publication, and chief executive Carolyn Young told RNZ they were disciplined about what research they used and who they spoke to.
“We were really clear that anything that we put in the report had to be validated by research,” she said.
“We went to great lengths to ensure that we could validate any comment.”
RNZ visited an East Auckland shop in March, where cigarettes were being sold without health warnings for as low as $13 a packet, roughly a third of the retail price.
A screenshot of a video of tobacco products that has been posted on Facebook. Facebook
The director of Action for Smokefree Aotearoa NZ, Ben Youdan, said when it came to tracking and researching the black market, transparency is key.
“The tobacco industry’s got a long history of exploiting a lot of different people and voices in their own commercial interests,” he said.
“I think there’s definitely some genuine concerns for especially small retailers around some of those issues around tobacco, the tobacco industry always has another interest in telling this story, but there’s definitely an issue in there that we shouldn’t just be dismissing.”
Youdan urged leaders to think critically about what they were being told.
“Really kind of asking those questions about whose arguments are they, who’s setting the playbook on this, and really making sure it’s as legitimate as possible.”
“I think that’s incredibly challenging given the long history that industry has had in this debate and stoking the fire around illicit tobacco.”
One such leader was associate health minister Casey Costello, who last year met with former Australian detective Rohan Pike to discuss the illicit market.
Pike confirmed he had been funded a couple of times by industry groups in New Zealand to visit.
Minister Costello said it was not her practise to ask those she meets with to disclose potential conflicts.
She told RNZ the evidence of a black market was there.
“I’d say it’s a bit disingenuous to suggest that this is about scare-mongering from the tobacco industry,” she said.
“We can see it across the board, and we see it from our own, the public, saying this is a problem.”
Rohan Pike said, irrespective of who funds his visits, his warnings should not be dismissed.
“I would again warn against underestimating the problem,” he said
“You’d be better off overestimating it and then formulating a robust response so that you’re ready for an influx of criminal activity.”
He said he stood by his message, that it was better to be prepared than not.
“I have been saying the same things for 10 years. You can Google all of my statements from when I was in the Australian Border Force to now, and I’m happy to stand by everything I’ve said,” Pike said.
“That’s the only thing that I’m beholden to, is the truth.”
“People can choose to listen to my warnings and the expertise that I have built up over many, many years of law enforcement, or they can battle on themselves.”
Those selling black market tobacco face a six-month prison sentence, a $20,000 fine or both.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
