Smoking isn’t exactly a cheap habit to have and, now, it’s going to cost Aussie’s more than ever.
According to reports, the price of cigarettes in Australia is set to rise 12.5 per cent by the end of this year, taking the cost of the average packet to almost $50.
From September, Australians will have to dish out $48.50 for a pack of Marlboro Golds (which already cost $42.99).
That means a pack-a-day smoker will spend around $18,000 a year on cigarettes alone. That’s almost a house deposit on little sticks of tobacco.
The cheapest pack will be about $29, which is still more than we would pay for brunch.
This will be the eighth year in a row the price of cigarettes has risen in Australia as part of the government’s attempt to reduce tobacco use. It also makes Australian cigarette prices the highest in the world.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) found price hikes were “the single most effective way to encourage tobacco users to quit and prevent children from starting to smoke.”
But, according to stats from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, increasing Australian cigarette prices has had no such impact on the number of Aussies who smoke. The ABS reports that the number of adults who smoke daily has been stagnant in recent years – dropping only 0.7 per cent between 2014-15 and 2017-18.
Images: Getty.
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