Australia’s illicit nicotine market is becoming a digital supply chain

Written By Peter Karidis

Image Courtesy: Canva

As enforcement pressure closes physical outlets, organised networks are increasingly using websites, social media, encrypted messaging, parcel delivery and digital payments.

Australia’s illicit tobacco and vape market is adapting to enforcement pressure by moving more of its activity online.

Australian Border Force seized more than 2.1 kilotonnes of illicit tobacco and more than six million illicit vapes during the 2024-25 financial year. These figures demonstrate the scale of the importation pipeline, but they do not capture the full domestic market or the speed with which distribution methods are changing.

Investigations have identified illicit products being promoted through websites and social-media accounts, with buyers directed towards private messages and encrypted applications. Products can then be delivered through ordinary parcel networks.

This reduces the need for a visible retail outlet and allows a seller to reach customers across multiple jurisdictions. Websites and accounts can be replaced quickly, while payment, hosting, delivery and supply functions can be divided between different participants.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has removed thousands of unlawful vape advertisements and redirected hundreds of websites. Enforcement agencies have also issued fines, confiscated assets and closed physical stores. Despite these actions, illegal promotions continue to appear on major platforms.

This persistence suggests that the challenge is not solely the number of enforcement actions. It is the capacity of the illicit market to regenerate faster than individual listings, accounts and storefronts can be removed.

A resilient response needs to target the entire commercial system.

Border interception remains essential, but it should be connected to financial intelligence, domain and hosting action, postal screening, social-platform accountability, telecommunications evidence and the confiscation of criminal proceeds.

Payment providers and delivery networks can be important control points. If an illicit seller loses access to advertising but retains payments and distribution, the market can continue through private referrals. If products are seized but the organisers retain their financial infrastructure, imports can be replaced.

Public-health policy also remains important. High consumer demand creates an enduring revenue base for organised crime. Education, treatment and lawful cessation support should operate alongside criminal enforcement.

The objective should be to increase the cost, difficulty and risk of operating across every stage of the illicit supply chain. Closing stores is valuable, but it will not be sufficient if the same market can reopen through a web address and encrypted message.

What this means

A coordinated response should include:

  • stronger obligations on social and advertising platforms

  • rapid suspension of repeat seller accounts

  • domain, hosting and payment disruption

  • intelligence-led parcel screening

  • information sharing between Commonwealth and state agencies

  • financial investigation and asset confiscation

  • consumer education about health and criminal-market risks

  • support for nicotine cessation

  • performance measures based on market disruption, not removal counts alone.

Resilience Lens:

Illicit markets often respond to enforcement by changing channels rather than disappearing.

Australia’s resilience challenge is to connect border, health, financial, postal, telecommunications and platform controls so that pressure applied in one part of the market does not merely displace activity elsewhere.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

21𝐬𝐭 𝐉𝐔𝐋 - 𝐉𝐨𝐛𝐬, 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 & 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠 with Workinitiatives
_ 4𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐔𝐆 - 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 with Minister for Tourism, Emily Bourke
_ 8 𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐄𝐏 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 with Assistant Minister Lawrence Ben MP
_ 𝐀𝐢, 𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

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Peter Karidis
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