Tough new laws to crack down on illegal tobacco ‘thugs’

Aaron Bunch | February 16, 2026

Proposed tough new laws could empower state authorities to shut down businesses found to be selling illegal tobacco and vaping products for up to three months.

Offenders found in possession of a large commercial quantity of the products could also be slapped with multimillion-dollar fines and more than a decade behind bars under legislation to be introduced in the Western Australian parliament on Tuesday.

The amendments will help crush the dangerous illegal tobacco and vape trade and drive criminal “thugs” out of business, Premier Roger Cook says.

“Make no mistake about it, organised crime is at the heart of our illicit tobacco trade,” he told reporters on Monday.

“It’s a scourge in our society, and it must be stopped.”

Under the changes to the Tobacco Products Control Act 2006, store closure orders of up to 90 days will also be introduced, ensuring businesses supplying illegal products will not be able to operate while investigations take place.

The maximum penalty for possession of a large commercial quantity of illicit tobacco and vaping products will be $4.2 million for an individual, or $21 million for a company, and 15 years imprisonment.

The WA Opposition said the measures were too slow in coming and may not be enough.

“While we’ve been waiting, there have been fire bombings, there have been all sorts of criminal activity in our suburbs,” opposition police spokesman Adam Hort said.

“Our communities are feeling less and less safe because they’ve been dragging their feet on what’s essential legislation.”

WA police on Monday said more than 3.9 million cigarettes, 3900 vapes and 288 kilograms of loose tobacco with an estimated retail value of $4.5 million had been seized in Perth in recent weeks.

Some 19 people have been charged with 65 offences related to the illegal tobacco trade in recent months, including three people accused of planning an attack on a tobacco and convenience store, a police spokesman said.

More than one in two cigarettes sold in Australia is purchased on the black market, with the federal government’s illicit tobacco tsar recently stating the black market share of cigarettes climbed to 55 per cent, but could have been as high as 60 per cent, in the last financial year.

Rising tobacco taxes have triggered the illegal trade, with the average price of a pack of over-the-counter cigarettes priced at about $50, compared with about $15 for black market cigarettes.

Authorities across the nation are attempting to crack down on the illegal tobacco trade, which has, at times, triggered violent turf wars.

NSW and Queensland have introduced laws to penalise commercial property landlords who knowingly allow illegal tobacco and vape stores to operate on their premises.

Businesses caught operating without a tobacco licence or selling illicit tobacco or vaping products can also be shut down immediately for 90 days and for up to 12 months if a breach is confirmed.

In Victoria, people caught selling illegal tobacco and vapes face fines of more than $355,000 or up to 15 years in jail, while businesses could be hit with a fine of more than $1.7 million.