Australia’s Cigarette Costs Deepen Financial Hardship

Smoking is taking a heavy financial toll in Australia. A half-pack-a-day habit costs roughly A$7,000 to A$12,000 annually when cigarettes are bought legally. In 2024, 18.3% of Australian smokers said cigarette spending had left too little money for basics such as food, housing or power. That share exceeded the figures recorded in England, Canada and the United States.

Researchers examined 26,888 smokers across those four countries using information collected from 2016 through 2024. In Australia, the proportion of smokers reporting this hardship rose as legal cigarette prices climbed. Yet the picture for the population as a whole improved: the share of Australians affected fell from 1.9% in 2016 to 1.7% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2025, as the adult smoking rate dropped from 15.6% to 8.2%.

Financial pressure often prompted quit attempts, but success was less common among people experiencing deprivation. Their quit rate was 9.4%, compared with 12.6% for other smokers. The authors argue that cutting tobacco taxes could reduce short-term costs but also encourage greater consumption and uptake. They recommend directing tobacco revenue toward free cessation medicines, expanded behavioral help, illegal-tobacco enforcement and programs for heavily affected groups.