Writes Jacob Steelman:

British American Tobacco, Philip Morris and Imperial Tobacco, the tobacco companies who hold most of the tobacco market in Australia, are being threatened by underground businessmen who now control 15.9% of the tobacco market up from 6.4% in 2007. As a result of government regulation, taxes, and customs enforcement, the price of tobacco has gone up. The big 3 tobacco companies pay A$165 for 250kg of chop chop loose leaf tobacco whereas the “organized crime gangs” (referred to as the unbranded market) buy it from such countries as Indonesia for only A$45/250kg. allowing them to pass on lower prices to their customers. Not surprisingly, they have gained a larger share of the tobacco market. As a result, the big 3 tobacco companies commissioned a report entitled The Illicit Trade in Tobacco in Australia which — you guessed it — called for even more government intervention.

The Best of Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.