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Help Fund A Case Study Into The Effects The Insane Tobacco Excise Of The Australian Government Is Having On Aussie Smokers

November 7, 2016

You don't have to be a smoker to be alarmed at the actions governments of all stipes have taken against smokers in Australia. Unless you live a squeaky clean life then don't be surprised if one day the things you love are out of reach. Follow the thread on Facebook. It includes a response from Senator David Leyonhjelm to the request for a government sponsored case study.

THE MASSIVE PRICE RISE HAPPENED ANYWAY WHEN THE COALITION GOT IN!!

November 7, 2016

More action happens on our Facebook page so this page doesn't get updated nearly as much as it should. However when updating it today I noticed the post below and considered the reality that the Coalition are just as bad as Labor. We need the tobacco excise AT LEAST HALVED in Australia. Just look at the comparable price of a pack of smokes in the US and here.

Marlboro - $25 in Australia vs $8.50 in the US. This is insane!

The government is at best profiteering from smokers and at worst extorting them. Their behaviour has seen a sharp rise in crime and clear discrimination against those not so well off. Actions that, were it carried out by any individual would have seen charges brought against them. This must stop and the tobacco excise dramatically reduced.

It costs 800 million a year to treat smoking related disease while the government collects over 8 billion! It's collecting it from people addicted to cigarettes which makes it a case of extortion. Contact your local member today and register your disgust at this violation. Smokers don't hurt other people but other people, especially politicians of all stripes (except Senator David Leyonhjelm) sure as hell are hurting smokers. Don't be apathetic about this, take some action today.

MASSIVE PRICE RISE COMING IF LABOR RETAIN GOVERNMENT!!

August 1, 2013

Cigarettes are set to rise by $5 for a pack of 20 smokes if Labor are returned to government.

This was being reported widely across Australian breakfast TV this morning and going on the Labor governments past record you can lock it in.

Now that $5 is for a pack of 20's, That will equate to between $16 and $20 a pack depending on where you buy them or for 25 smokes expect to py $22-$28 a pack.

Are you ready to pay that much? I'm certainly fucking not!!

Labor will drive lower income families (where both adults smoke) further into poverty. Kids will go without because parents will keep smoking.

In real terms Labor will be taking $70 MORE a week ($300 p/m) away from these people and their bill for a pack a day habit will be $350 a week. That's two smoking parents paying $25 a day each for a pack of smokes. Yep, $50 a day x 7 days is a lot of money.

Labor will successfully create criminals out of everyday Aussies as they source their tobacco illegally.

We are about to get hammered people!! What to do??

Vote for the smoking party for a stat. A seat in parliament will provide leverage to vote down excise increases to be proposed and potentially be a thorn in a governments side. Just repaying the favor.

Outside of that it's up to you. All suggestions are welcome!! Sane ones will even be entertained.

TALK THIS UP PEOPLE or we will be paying through the nose or breaking the law to smoke.

Aussie Smokers, have your voice heard at the 2013 Election!

I discovered The Smokers Party on Facebook recently and thank them for their initiative to have a voice at the next Australian federal election. The official site (which I'm now a member of) is at http://smokersrights.org.au

If you're an Aussie you should sign up (free) so they can get the 500 people they need to register. As you can see below there are some real plebs out to enforce their will over you.

Cheers
Steve (admin)

The Irony of Labors Excessive Cigarette Tax

The Labor party are a funny mob. Soon to be redundant I hope (no I'm not a conservative either) but what worries me about Labor is the intrusion they plan and do impose into Aussies lives, businesses and homes.

I unremarkably predict a landslide win to the Coalition in the September 2013 election. And to be honest I'm not actually happy about that as life significantly got worse for many under John Howard. Costs went through the roof, services dropped and we became sycophants to a bad US government. I don't think an Abbott led government will be any different. Many pundits have their reasons for predicting a coalition landslide but my reasons are formed by a belief that Labor's logic on many things is not just flawed but destructive. The sad fact is the political choice in Australia is the bottom of the barrel.

Labor, somewhat altruistically I believe, appear to think you should live for as long as possible. On the face of it that sounds nice but once you think this through it's actually quite ridiculous.

Unless medical advancements include a return of physical and mental strength then adding 10 or 20 years to an 85 year olds life makes no sense. It makes no sense because quality of life invariably diminishes from that age and what we will have is an excessive number of elderly who can do little more than sit around waiting to die. Some aware of their situation, many not.

It's no secret we already have a big imbalance of generations. Basically we have an over supply of Baby Boomers and an under supply of everyone else. I don't blame Boomers for not having kids but that choice now has serious repercussions for everyone. Primarily the cost of keeping Boomers alive will have to be met by everyone else. In future that could mean 70% tax on most people to allow the elderly live an extra 10-20 years. That means reduced quality of life for those able to do things in order to support those able to do not much. And I don't think that will fly with anyone 20 to 60.

If living an extra 20 years meant you could go on more overseas trips or do things you would have in your 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's then fine. But that won't be the case. Ultimately this country will start to resemble a retirement village very soon. Does anyone really want that?

Now, like it or not smoking keeps the attrition rate manageable. Most smokers life spans are invariably shorter than non smokes and palliative care is also shorter and less expensive. In reality, governments should be promoting smoking, not restricting it! This logic will no doubt appear flawed to some but when you do the sums it actually makes sense.

A second reason the tax is flawed is that it's discriminatory. While it might put cigarettes out of reach for the youth what it also does is make many kids lives worse. Many smokers are in lower socio-economic circumstances and when you remove an extra $100 a week in cigarette tax from low earning couples who smoke and have kids invariably the kids go without.

Just give up smoking I hear many say. Well, to them I say let me decide what you should go without. Should I, who has no idea of your circumstances be able to make things you love unaffordable just because I don't spend money on them? I'm pretty sure I heard a no.

So to non smokers I say be careful what you impose on others. It's not funny when the shoe is on the other foot. And to smokers I say make a noise if you're sick of being discriminated against. Today it's smokes, what will it be tomorrow? You have rights; use them or lose them.

Melbourne Cr Richard Foster proposes city wide ban on smoking

That's right. No where in Melbourne will you be able to smoke. I recommend you contact him if you're not happy about this move.

Contact details
Cr Richard Foster
Phone: 03 9658 9056
Email: richard.foster@melbourne.vic.gov.au

City of Melbourne
GPO Box 1603
Melbourne VIC 3001

Expect to pay $25 for a pack of smokes in Australia from December 2012.

If Labor are returned to government in 2013 expect that to rise too. Are you looking forward to paying $35+ a pack for what should cost $7? What a pack a day smoker should pay is $49 a week but that will rise to $175 a week after December.

Sadly 1 in 10 live in poverty in Australia and the governments exorbitant tobacco tax is a big contributor to the stat. Many kids go without because mum and/or dad smoke and are already struggling to make ends meet. Removing another $30-$100 a week from the household budget by way of 25% higher tobacco excise will no doubt see poverty increase and even more kids go without.

Even more people rolling up to shelters and still more asking you for a cigarette. At $2 a smoke from December there'll be a lot less giving and a lot more cranky smokers picking up buts to feed the addiction.

Now if tobacco wasn't addictive it'd be a different story. If avocados were $18 each low wage earners especially would have no qualms in leaving them off the shopping list. I mean who could pay $18 for a $4 product?

Smokes in many countries though cost less than $7 a pack so charging $25 for an addictive legal product is little short of extortion. Especially in a country that's already expensive to live in.

So why doesn't the Labor government subsidize nicotine patches?

Because with Labor it's a case of The Emperor's New Clothes. The art of deception. In much the same way it was with the Howard government; but on different issues. With Labor it's not a case of no clothes underneath but something smelly underneath.

And there highlights Labors duplicitous nature. The reason Labor don't subsidize patches is because they'd lose too much revenue from the tobacco excise.

But should they win office next year then the picture of Australia in 2017 after the end of that term will see even more restrictive draconian laws in play.

You may well expect:
1. Plain branded alcohol with pictures of alcohol violence on the labels.
2. Not being able to ask the price of alcohol as that will be deemed "promoting" the product and the teller could be fired for breaking a new law. That's the story now with smokes.
3. Alcohol hidden from view in the bottle shop.
4. Fast food plain branded with pictures of obesity splashed over the packaging.
5. Not being able to ask the price of a burger as that will be deemed "promoting" the product and the teller could be fired for breaking a new law. See above.
6. Pictures of fast food and menus hidden from view.

Basically if you like to drink, smoke and have a burger you won't like Australia anymore. Expect to be broke and ostracized. And kiss good old Aussie larrikinism goodbye. Labor are killing the culture.

Now sadly we smokers aren't kicking up much of fuss. Just copping it quietly because Labor is pitting the wider non smoking community against us with their laws and ads and with the help of the anti smoking sector (ass). It's subtle (kinda) but it's there.

So my fellow smokers have we had enough yet? If the answer is yes then we need to put our heads together to rally against the laws Labor continue to introduce. Before it's too late. Please add suggestions to the page and get your smoking buddies on board. I recommend some kind of response around December 1 when the plain packaging and 25% excise increase comes into affect.

Let me know what you think.

Regards,

Steve, Melbourne
ProSmokingLobby.com

Plain Packaging Is Coming

October 2012: Labor set to increase cigarette tax by a further 25% on Dec 1.

It was broadcast on the ABC's Insiders program on Oct 14 that Labor plan to further increase the tax on cigarettes by 25% on December 1st, which will coincide with the plain packaging.

This will place a further financial strain on millions of Aussie smokers already struggling with the cost of living. What galls us most at Pro Smoking Lobby is the hypocrisy of the Labor party. It makes available a highly addictive product and collects huge revenue from the tax but then makes it unaffordable for many Australians. In fact, many are resorting to low quality, low price tobacco or even illegal tobacco because they simply can't afford the price imposed by the government. The definition of a disgusting government is one who makes a highly addictive product widly available to millions of addicts then outprices it for low wage earners. They are almost coercing people into criminality by their laws and MUST be stopped at the next election! Otherwise where will we be in 2016? What will the price of a pack of smokes be then? Aussie smokers need to think about this carefully before the next election in 2013.

There are few if any outlets for smokers to vent their frustration about Labors attack on smokers. It's fast becoming politically incorrect to be a smoker or associate with smokers. Labor appear to be deliberately ostracizing 3 million Aussie smokers because ex health minister Nicola Roxon is on a personal vendetta. One that's being followed up by the current health minister Tanya Plibersek.

The Solution

The only solutions are really to contact your local MP and express your disgust. The next step is to contact the opposition MP and see what their stance is. Personally I stopped voting for Labor the minute they banned smoking in pubs. And while I'm not impressed with Liberal, if I find they will reverse some of the cigarette tax imposed by Labor I'll almost campaign for them.

If Nicola Roxon and Tanya Plibersek continue attacking smokers then smokers will hit back!

Cigarettes cost on average $5.50 a pack in the States, that should make them about $5 here in Oz at the current exchange rate. We are paying 3 times that cost thanks to Labor. It's time to vote them out!

Stay tuned! And let your friends know what's happening on our Facebook page.

Ed.

August 2011: How much is Health Minister Nicola Roxon robbing Aussie smokers?

	Marlboro Red	- Richmond, Virginia	United States	- $2.58
	Marlboro Red	- Melbourne, Victoria	Australia	- $13.49

Answer: $11 every day. So...
She robs a pack a day smoker $334 every month. This means...
She robs a pack a day smoker $4015 every year. And this means...
She robs a pack a day smoker $20,075 every 5 years.

Not happy Jan!? Then tell people how you feel

May 2011: Australian Labor Party wants to outlaw cigarettes within 10 years.

Current Poll: Should This Happen?

The Australian Labor Party's assult on Australian smokers continues at full speed. May 22, 2011 saw two media reports air spelling out the lengths the Australian government is prepared to go to to wipe smoking out. The first was a report on a Sydney academic who proposed smokers obtain a license to smoke and the second even more formidible report stated that the government was looking at completely outlawing cigarettes within 10 years.

True, Australia is beginning to resemble a communist state with its attitude to smoking. Even for the ruling Labor Party whose political roots are steeped in leftist ideology you might think outlawing cigarettes was a bridge too far. Apparantly not.

If you are an Australian smoker you will become a criminal once you light up a cigarette after this law is introduced. Looking forward to that? And for anyone thinking the government won't do it only needs to look at its current assult on smokers to know it's serious.

Not content to shunt smokers outside into rediculous locations they moved into banning smoking in cars with kids, floating banning smoking in houses, banning branding on cigarettes and finally, wanting to ban it all together.

What Labor are doing today should scare the shit out of anyone who appreciates their civil liberties. Are you happy to sit back and let them proceed unchallanged? Get involved and sign a petition or two.

Feb 2011

Read The Australian Story...because it's coming soon to you!!

On Feb 28, 2011 as a response to politics, Pro Smoking Lobby became a petition site formed in response to many governments attacks on cigarette smokers.

The hypocritical and discriminatory nature of the laws and taxes on cigarette smokers being introduced require a big effort by smokers to repeal them.

If, as a smoker you are tired of being discriminated against please sign the petitions and tell as many people you can about this site. The aim is to get governments to acknowlege you are a person with a voice.

Pro Smoking Petitions

Petitions serve as a reference to politicians around the world on how you (probably a smoker or civil liberties protester) are feeling about what is happening with smoking. Only your name and IP address are published so politicians who view them can see which country the signatures originated from. You require a valid email to confirm your signature on a petition. This is not published or revealed to third parties.

Thankyou for visiting Pro Smoking Lobby. This site is run by smokers for smokers.

Ask yourself is a prohibition on tobacco a solution you endorse? Is banning smoking in cars a solution you endorse? If not, take action, sign the petitions and tell your friends!

If, like us you are sick of being smashed around the head by heavy handed government action towards smoking and smokers then you have friends here.

Interestingly, 2011 is the year many governments are scheduled to resign the 50 year moratoriam on drugs such as marajuana, cocain and heroin. Is it a coincidence so much anti smoking action is being felt by governments around the world?