All Media Releases

2017

18 December 2017
Government revenue plummets as criminals rake in $250 million

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) believes today’s announcement of a $250 million shortfall in tobacco excise is due to the flourishing illegal tobacco market.
View (567 kb)

7 December 2017
BATA contributes $200 million in corporate tax

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) welcomed the release of Australian Tax Office (ATO) figures today showing that the company contributed $200 million in corporate tax.
View (544 kb)

26 August 2017
Anti-tobacco activists come to aid of criminals

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) is frustrated at efforts to undermine action against the tobacco blackmarket.
View (460 kb)

8 August 2017
Sydney Tobacco Raids Are Just The Beginning

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) commends the AFP, NSW Police and other agencies for their focus on illegal tobacco importers and dealers in their raids across Sydney this morning.
View (263 kb)

23 June 2017
ACCC rejects application to reduce illegal tobacco

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA), Imperial Tobacco Australia (ITA) and Philip Morris Limited (PML) are disappointed by the ACCC’s decision to deny their application for approval to collectively cease selling legal tobacco products to retailers caught selling illegal tobacco.
View (772 kb)

9 May 2017
Roll Your Own Tobacco Tax Hike to Further Fuel Tobacco Black Market

Commenting on the Government's move to increase tax on roll your own tobacco, British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) was disappointed that smokers are again being hit and warned that the measure will further drive the tobacco black-market.
View (261 kb)

3 May 2017
National strategy needed to tackle illicit tobacco

Illegal tobacco consumption in Australia is now estimated to be worth up to $1.61 billion in foregone excise revenue, highlighting the need for a coordinated national approach to combat black market smuggling and production.
View (224 kb)

23 March 2017
Time for a National Strategy on Illicit Tobacco

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) yesterday called upon the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement (PJCLE) to recommend the Government adopt a National Anti-Illicit Tobacco Strategy.
View (1,287 kb)


2016

9 December 2016
BATA contributes $250 million in corporate tax

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) welcomed the release of Australian Tax Office (ATO) figures today showing that the company contributed over $250 million in corporate tax.
View (362 kb)

29 September 2016
BAT named one of the world's most diverse and inclusive companies

British American Tobacco (BAT) has been named as one of the most diverse and inclusive companies worldwide in a Thomson Reuters Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Index published this week.
View (410 kb)

1 September 2016
Excise hike to further fuel tobacco black-market

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today warned of significant growth in the illegal tobacco market as another 12.5% tobacco excise increase takes effect.
View (332 kb)

4 May 2016
Tobacco black market set to boom

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today said the announcement in last night’s budget that the Coalition government would introduce a further round of large ad hoc tobacco excise increases must have the organised crime syndicates who smuggle large quantities of illegal tobacco into the country champing at the bit.
View (215 kb)

1 April 2016
Record chop chop crop stopped

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today congratulated authorities on seizing more than 60 acres of illegal tobacco plants in regional Victoria last week.
View (215 kb)

4 March 2016
Action required from illegal tobacco inquiry

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today welcomed the opportunity to participate in the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement into illegal tobacco.
View (216 kb)

26 February 2016
New report shows the failures of plain packaging

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today released a report by SLG Economics that reviews and analyses information on plain packaging from four independent surveys including three of which were commissioned by government.
View PIR media release (311 kb) View PIR report (544 kb)


Evidence shows that plain packaging has failed

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) said the plain packaging post-implementation review (PIR) released by the Federal Department of Health (DoH) today did not provide any conclusive evidence.
View media release (326 kb)


2015

16 October 2015
BATA congratulates illegal tobacco crackdown

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today congratulated the Minister Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton for announcing a dedicated Australian Border Force (ABF) strike team to target illegal tobacco.
View (73 kb)

1 September 2015
Excise hike to cause cheap cig surge

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today warned of the imminent growth in cheap cigarettes as another large 12.5 per cent ad hoc tobacco excise increase takes effect.

The additional tax shock is the third in an annual series of four hikes which slugs smokers who then in turn look for cheaper alternatives.
View (73 kb)

28 May 2015
BATA calls for a world with no illegal tobacco

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today called for more to be done to eradicate the tobacco black market on the eve of World No Tobacco Day.

Due to such high excise levels the amount of illegal tobacco used by Australians represents 14.5 per cent of total consumption, costing the government over $1.35 billion in lost taxes.
View (212 kb)

12 May 2015
BATA looks to confront chop chop head on

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) is considering launching a Make Your Own (MYO) cigarette brand to try and capture the growing number of illegal chop chop smokers.

Chop chop or illegal loose leaf tobacco currently makes up the majority of the illegal black market and we are being forced to compete with organised crime for market share due to the government’s failed excise system.
View (215 kb)

4 May 2015
TOBACCO BLACK MARKET HITS NEW HIGH: KPMG UK REPORT

Tax loss to government estimated at $1.35 billion

Consumption of illegal tobacco has reached record levels in Australia with a new report revealing increased activity from tobacco smugglers and unscrupulous traders as the cost of legal cigarettes continues to rise.
View media release (531 kb) KPMG report FY 2014 (1,161 kb)

19 March 2015
The facts: Plain packaging is failing

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today released information sourced from government and respected third party providers which shows that plain packaging is failing.
View (101 kb)

17 February 2015
First counterfeit plain packs hit the streets

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today revealed that one of its well-known brands has been illegally counterfeited in the olive green plain packaging format for the first time and sold in Australia.
View (219 kb)

30 January 2015
Government key controller of tobacco prices

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today responded to television reports in South Australia that tobacco prices would increase from 1 February.
View (213 kb)


2014

1 December 2014
Industry consultation a must during plain pack review

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today called for an open consultation during the Post-Implementation Review (PIR) of plain packaging which is expected to begin on 1 December 2014.
View (217 kb)

28 November 2014
Report questions effectiveness of plain packaging

British American Tobacco (BAT) today released a report by Ernst & Young (EY) that assesses the impact of government policy on tobacco consumption over the last decade.
View EY media release (219 kb) View EY report (746 kb)

27 November 2014
Youth smoking rates soar two years post plain packs

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today revealed there has been a spike in national and state based smoking rates in young people since the introduction of plain packaging according to government statistics.
View (218 kb)

25 November 2014
Latest report into Australia's illegal tobacco problem

Read the latest report produced by KPMG about Australia's illegal tobacco problem
View (1,494 kb)

30 October 2014
BAT forced to close Australian factory

British American Tobacco (BAT) today said that it will be closing its Australian manufacturing facility and move offshore in the third quarter of next year.
View (1,494 kb)

17 July 2014
Smoking rates underestimated

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today says a government survey has underestimated Australian smoking rates and its decline is in line with historical trends and not a result of plain packaging.
View (132 kb)

15 July 2014
Enforcement pays off

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today congratulated authorities for using the increased penalties under an amendment to the Customs Act 1901, made in 2012, to prosecute two illegal tobacco importers for smuggling over 1.4 million cigarettes from Korea in June 2013.
View (93 kb)

18 June 2014
BATA states the facts

The Federal Government’s tobacco excise policy combined with the failed plain packaging legislation is resulting in more smokers purchasing cigarettes from the lower priced segment than ever. Today there are 1.4 million smokers purchasing legal cigarettes between $13 and $15.
View (218 kb)

8 June 2014
Low price cigarettes at an all-time high

Federal Government policy resulting in large tobacco excise increases is driving demand for low price cigarettes which is having the opposite effect that it was intended to have.

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) was this week forced to launch the cheapest legal pack of 25 cigarettes on the market in an effort to remain competitive in the growing low price segment.\
View (218 kb)

5 May 2014
Massive chop chop crop stop

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today congratulated authorities on seizing 350,000 illegal tobacco plants in Victoria over the weekend.

The seizure is the largest of its kind and highlights the growing illegal tobacco problem Australia is facing due to growing excise levels.
View (214 kb)

12 April 2014
Illegal tobacco jumps 20 per cent in the last year

The total consumption of illegal cigarettes and chop chop climbed to its highest ever rate according to a report released today by the industry. The report is prepared by KPMG UK and also shows that the use of illegal cigarettes grew 151 per cent in the last year alone.
View Illegal tobacco report FY 2013 (328 kb)
View KPMG report FY 2013 (2,383 kb)

4 April 2014
Industry volumes up, illegal tobacco up, while the number of people quitting halves

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today made it very clear that all data available since the introduction of plain packaging demonstrates that the policy has failed and is having the opposite effect to what the previous government intended.
View (48 kb)

21 March 2014
Local retailer could face $100,000 in fine over illegal tobacco

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) today congratulated the Ararat City Council for prosecuting a tobacco retailer with stocking more than $10,000 worth of illegal tobacco which could lead to fines of over $100,000.
View (215 kb)

15 January 2014
Tougher illegal tobacco laws welcomed

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) spokesperson Scott McIntyre today congratulated the Victorian Government on quadrupling fines for retailers caught with illegal tobacco and strongly urged other states to follow their lead.
View (123 kb)

14 January 2014
No impact on tobacco volumes since plain packs introduced

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) spokesperson Scott McIntyre said today that people making telephone calls and people quitting smoking were two different things.
View (214 kb)


2013

28 November 2013
Plain packs fail while cheap smokes grow

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) said today after a year of implementation the plain packaging experiment is not working and had no impact on legal tobacco volumes.
View (216 kb)

4 November 2013
Booming illegal tobacco costs government billions

The first illegal tobacco report released since plain packaging was introduced last year shows the problem has worsened with the tobacco black market now booming with illicit cigarettes imported from mainly Asia and the Middle East.
View the media release (219 kb) View the Illegal Tobacco Report (1,146 kb)

22 July 2013
Plain packs have not impacted consumers sales data

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) spokesperson Scott McIntyre said consumers have not changed their purchasing behavior since the implementation of plain packs on 1 December last year.
View (113 kb)

31 May 2013
A world with sensible tobacco legislation

On World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) is calling for greater consultation between the Australian government and the tobacco industry to ensure more sensible and effective regulation in the future.
View (220 kb)

26 March 2013
More chop chop while illegal tobacco overall drops

The amount of illegal loose leaf tobacco or “chop chop” sold on Australian streets increased last year according to an annual industry report by Deloitte, while the number of illegal cigarettes peddled across the country has reduced.
View the media release (218 kb)
View the report (1,534 kb)



2012

11 October 2012
Tougher illegal tobacco laws the right step

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) spokesperson Scott McIntyre welcomed the government’s tougher tobacco smuggling laws which passed through parliament today.
View (120 kb)

5 October 2012
High Court finds government takes tobacco brands

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) said it was pleased the High Court had today found that its trademarks, patents, designs, copyrights and brands such as Winfield and Dunhill constitute property.
View (121 kb)

15 August 2012
Serious unintended consequences start 1 December

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) spokesperson Scott McIntyre today said the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act (TPP) was a bad piece of law that would have serious unintended consequences.
View (222 kb)

3 May 2012
$1 billion in lost taxes could fill a big budget hole

An annual report into the size of illegal tobacco problem found a significant shift in the black market with criminal gangs now smuggling three times the amount of counterfeit and contraband cigarettes into Australia than the previous year.
View the media release (109 kb)
3 May 2012 - Deloriette (2,525 kb)

16 April 2012
High Court hearing commences

The hearing for British American Tobacco’s (BAT) challenge against the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act (TPP) will begin tomorrow before the seven High Court Judges in Canberra.

Allan Myers QC will argue on behalf of BAT that the TPP legislation is unconstitutional due to the fact the Commonwealth is trying to acquire our valuable intellectual property without compensation
View (113 kb)

14 February 2012
Focus on crime gangs not holidaymakers

British American Tobacco today responsed to to media speculation about the possible banning of the sale and import of duty-free tobacco products for incoming travellers into Australia, claiming it wouldn't deter smokers.
View (108 kb)


2011

10 November 2011
Plain packaging now heads to High Court

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) confirmed it will commence proceedings in the High Court against the Federal Government immediately after plain packaging gains Royal Assent, if the legislation passes through the Senate today.
View (119 kb)

14 October 2011
No Senate vote means no legal cigarettes next year

BATA warned there could be no legal tobacco on retailer shelves from 1 July 2012.
View (114 kb)

12 September 2011
Senate should stop bad law

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) will tomorrow front a Senate inquiry into a key part of Minister Roxon’s plain packaging laws.
View (113 kb)

5 September 2011
BAT Australia heads to High Court over plain packs

British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) confirmed that if plain packaging passes through the Senate and becomes law then Australia’s highest selling cigarette manufacturer will head straight to the High Court to challenge the Federal Government on the legislation.
View (113 kb)

1 September 2011
BAT Australia welcomes arrests

NSW Police, Australian Federal Police, Australian Customs and Operation Polaris seize 60 tonnes of illegal “chop chop” tobacco and 25 million counterfeit cigarettes.
View (114 kb)

23 August 2011
MPs must see the Federal Government’s secret legal advice

With debate on the Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill and contentious Trademarks Bill expected in Parliament tomorrow, it’s critical every MP who will have to vote on moving the Bills into the Senate see the advice on the legality and constitutionality of plain packaging.

“The Federal Government had continually declined to release their legal advice through the Freedom of Information (FOI) process and BATA suspects that is because it’s likely to demonstrate their plain packaging laws are flawed,” said BAT Australia's spokesperson, Scott McIntyre.

23 June 2011
Sydney number one hot spot for illegal tobacco

"It’s alarming to see tens of thousands of kilograms of illegal tobacco sold in Sydney. Of 150 electorates in Australia, it’s the worst." said David Crow in BAT Australia's recent media release.
View (180 kb)

6 June 2011
Submission articulates objections to plain packaging

British American Tobacco Australia makes its submission to the Department of Health and Ageing as part of the Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011 consultation process.
View (10,835 kb)

31 May 2011
Full Federal Court hearing set for secret plain pack advice

British American Tobacco Australia is pleased a Full Federal Court of Australia will hear it’s appeal against the Federal Government’s repeated refusal to make public its legal advice on plain packaging. BAT Australia suspects that Minister Roxon hasn’t released the legal advice because it’s likely to demonstrate her plain packaging laws are flawed.
View (179 kb)

17 May 2011
Campaign questions expensive plain packaging experiment

British American Tobacco Australia CEO, David Crow today launched a national media campaign which questions the Federal Government’s proposed plain packaging legislation while also releasing a series of confidential government documents to support the company’s view.
View (203 kb)

Visit www.plainpack.com to read about BAT Australia's views on plain packaging and watch British American Tobacco Australia CEO, David Crow discuss the unintended consequences.

28 April 2011

British American Tobacco Australia has been forced to lodge an appeal in the Federal Court of Australia after the Federal Government repeatedly refused to release a key document through the Freedom of Information (FOI) process.
View (90 kb)

7 April 2011

British American Tobacco Australia said it was disappointed the Government has pushed ahead with plain packaging despite the risk it would end up costing taxpayers billions even though there was no proof it would work.
View (81 kb)


2010

29 April 2010

The Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has just confirmed speculation that there will be an increase in tobacco excise of 25 per cent effective as at 12:01am (Friday 30 April 2010). Read our news release.
View (100 kb)

23 April 2010

Allegations that British American Tobacco Australia use social media as a way of subversive advertising was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday, 24 April. Read our official statement.
View (81 kb)

18 March 2010

British American Tobacco Australia supports new regulations regarding the manufacture of reduced fire risk (RFR) cigarettes and the end goal of reducing fires, but warns that no cigarette is safe. Read more in our news release below.
View (23 kb)

8 February 2010

A new report by PwC, Illegal tobacco: counting the cost of Australia’s black market,shows Australia’s illegal tobacco market continues to grow, with more than 12 per cent of all tobacco consumed illegal and costing the Federal Government more than $600 million per year in lost revenue. Read our response to the release of the PwC Report.
View PwC press release (141 kb) View Illegal Tobacco Report (306 kb)

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