No, commercial tobacco growing is illegal in Australia, with the last legal crops harvested around 2006; however, illicit tobacco farming occurs, and a native "bush tobacco" (Pituri) exists but isn't for commercial sale, while all legal tobacco leaf for cigarettes sold in Australia is imported.
It's illegal to grow tobacco in Australia without the appropriate excise licence. Currently, no one is licensed to grow or manufacture tobacco seed, plant or leaf for commercial sale or personal use. We receive referrals from the ITTF, state law enforcement partners and tip-offs from industry and the community.
Winfield is an Australian brand of cigarettes, currently owned by multinational company British American Tobacco. Cigarettes are manufactured and imported by British American Tobacco Australia (BATA), a subsidiary of British American Tobacco.
Bush tobacco is a native Australian tobacco plant. It grows in Queensland, the Northern Territory's Central Desert Region and Western Australia. It is known by different names including Pituri, Pitjuri and Mingkulpa.
Tobacco growing commemnced in the Upper Ovens Valley in the early 1870s, supporting the local Myrtleford area for over 100 years. Due to increasing global competition, tobacco growing in the Upper Ovens Valley ceased after the February 2006 harvest.
The use of bush tobacco varies across regions but seems to be most common within Aboriginal populations in the central desert regions of Australia. Traditionally a mixture is made using dried leaf and stem with ash, and moistened with saliva (called a quid).
In Australia, a 30g pouch of Roll-Your-Own (RYO) tobacco typically costs around $90 to $110 AUD, with budget options sometimes lower and premium brands higher, varying by retailer and brand like JPS, Longbeach, or Champion. Prices include high tobacco taxes, with cheaper brands such as Byron or Toro around $70-$90, while premium brands like Drum or G.V. can exceed $100.
It was filled up for the first time on March 31, 1962, and soon after, Mareeba became the tobacco capital of Australia.
The phrase "tobacco industry" generally refers to the companies involved in the manufacture of cigarettes, cigars, snuff, chewing tobacco and pipe tobacco. China National Tobacco Co. has become the largest tobacco company in the world by volume.
No, chop-chop tobacco is generally not better for you in Australia; it's often worse than legal tobacco due to a lack of regulation, leading to dangerous contaminants like mold, fungi (which produce aflatoxin), twigs, grass, and even bleach, causing severe respiratory issues, organ damage, and potential fatality, despite some users believing it's healthier due to being "natural".
Headquartered in vibrant Mississauga, Ontario, with manufacturing facilities in Montreal, Quebec and administrative offices across Canada, our primary brands are Export A, Macdonald, LD, American Spirit, Camel, Winston and Logic.
Cigarettes are so expensive in Australia primarily due to extremely high tobacco excise taxes and customs duties, implemented through large annual increases (like the 12.5% hikes from 2013-2020 and further 5% rises from 2023) as a public health strategy to discourage smoking by making them unaffordable. These taxes now account for a huge portion of the final retail price, making Australia's cigarettes among the world's most expensive and driving significant illicit trade.
A 30g pouch of roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco typically yields around 40 to 60 cigarettes (rollies), depending on how much tobacco you use per roll; it's often considered equivalent to about 50 cigarettes, though some sources suggest it can stretch further if packed lightly.
Australia's tobacco control policy has lost its way. Excise has kept rising, while legal sales have shrunk, and a large illicit market has emerged. Excise revenue once treated as a reliable cash stream has collapsed and now falls well short of Budget forecasts.
Australia has 21 endemic species and one naturalised species. Indigenous Australians have long used the native tobacco, N. benthamiana, as a stimulant as it contains high levels of nicotine and other alkaloids.
The Australian tobacco industry is a subset of the global industry. All three major tobacco companies which operate in Australia—British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International, and Imperial Brands—are wholly owned subsidiaries of their overseas parent companies.
10 Countries With the Highest Smoking Rates, Nauru Tops the List
Tobacco experts often say that the best and the worst tobacco in the world come from Cuba. The leaf is grown in just about every region of the island. However, it is the rich red soil of the Vuelta Abajo that produces the best tobacco, both for filler and wrapper.
The leading tobacco producing states in the U.S. include North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. North Carolina lies in the Virginia-Carolina tobacco belt and topped the list in 2022 with a tobacco production over 249 million pounds.
More about tobacco
It is not grown legally in Australia, but is grown in more than 100 countries worldwide. Tobacco provides farmers with a sustainable crop, which thrives in poorer soils, benefits crop rotation, and provides a high income to the farmers and supply chains involved.
Pre-colonial use of tobacco
Before colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples did not smoke tobacco, though some people chewed the leaves of plants that contained nicotine [5-7] and some Aboriginal peoples in northern Australia traded tobacco and pipes with Macassan fishermen [5, 6].
The cured leaves from one tobacco plant are sufficient to make approximately 300 standard sized cigarettes. After curing, tobacco is usually stored in warehouses before shipping and cigarette manufacture.
Cigarettes are so expensive in Australia primarily due to extremely high tobacco excise taxes and customs duties, implemented through large annual increases (like the 12.5% hikes from 2013-2020 and further 5% rises from 2023) as a public health strategy to discourage smoking by making them unaffordable. These taxes now account for a huge portion of the final retail price, making Australia's cigarettes among the world's most expensive and driving significant illicit trade.
The cheapest rolling tobacco often comes from lesser-known brands or large bulk bags, with options like Byron, Wesley, P&S, and Howling Wolf frequently cited as budget-friendly in the 30g range, sometimes as low as $70-$90 AUD, while larger 150g pouches of Longbeach or Choice offer better value, but brands like JPS and Borkum Riff are mid-range, with prices varying significantly by retailer and location.
In Australia during 2025, a pack of 20 cigarettes typically cost around A$40 to over A$50, with prices climbing due to significant tobacco excise tax increases, with some estimates placing popular brands near A$43 and average prices exceeding A$40, potentially reaching A$50 by 2026. An increase in September 2025 pushed the tax on a pack to nearly A$30.