A PACK is fifty bucks!? Not a case?
Damn.
Go aus.
Eh the tax on cigarettes increases every year I think it’s literally $2 a smoke now, it was 1.67 when I quit.
I’m conflicted on this tax though, the money doesn’t go anywhere it should. Our healthcare services should be propped up with this money because smokers are actively damaging themselves causing increased stress on the medical system, it could also be put towards harm minimisation in general not just for smoking but all sorts of addictions
But the government doesn’t actually care about this issue, if you look at the stance towards vaping it’s apparent that they tried this ban to prop up big tobacco considering the only ‘legal’ vapes on the market are manufactured by the big tobacco corporations
The other issue is this tax is severely damaging for low socioeconomic areas in Australia, who already have a high amount of smokers. Lots of places just sell cheap imported cigarettes for 20 bucks now, so that money is going to some kind of organised crime.
I just think it’s a form of prohibition that’s gotten out of hand, rather it should’ve been used to bootstrap and fund better infrastructure and policy around the issue.
I do not agree with your sentiments to vaping and Australia pandering to larger tobacco companies. Vapes are not nearly as readily available as cigarettes and the regulatory hurdles to approval are restrictive meaning that smaller companies who are not willing to obtain the certification, do not end up on the market. Nicotine content is also highly controll compared to other markets.
I believe the aim was to ban vaping overall, but they saw the wave of legal battles to get to that point and decided on this as a middle ground to save cost/effort. You could argue that putting them in pharmacies aligns them as a “health” product, which is not great…
Also, the increased cost of cigarettes is in itself a harm minimisation measure. The tax is meant to be a motivator to stop people starting or continuing smoking, independent of who they are.
I don’t know what could be done better here, what would you suggest?
A black market pack is $12 and noone I know buys legal cigarettes anymore. I’d love to know how they manage to smuggle in enough to meet the demand. The firebombings are an unpleasant side effect but the government loves the tax rake.
@Zagorath@aussie.zone , is this correct?
not them but yes, but i doubt the grocery prices are post covid. i buy very similar (cheap shitty) products and this would be much closer to 100 aud these days
So, I did the maths and found this (Also, from Melbourne Australia so if any items on the table you aren’t familiar with, heres the names and links)
Brushed Potatoes, $6.50
Odd Bunch Carrots, $1.70 (Running total $8.20)
Strawberry Yoghurt, $4 (RT $12.20)
Zafarelli Pasta, $2 (RT $14.20)
Hillview Cheese Slices, $4.80 (RT $19)
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/558548/hillview-cheese-slices-full-fat
Wheat Biscuits, $5 (RT $24)
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/333314/woolworths-wheat-biscuits
Frozen Peas, $2.50 (RT $26.50)
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/96845/essentials-frozen-peas
Raguletto Pasta Sauce, $2.75 ($29.25)
White bread, $2.80 each ($34.85)
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/581172/woolworths-white-soft-sandwich-bread
Banana, Approx $0.86 each ($39.15)
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/133211/cavendish-bananas
Odd bunch Apples, $3.10 ($42.25)
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/800763/the-odd-bunch-apples-prepacked-punnet
Mixed chips, $5.75 ($48)
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/434124/woolworths-chips-variety-pack
2l Milk, $3 ($51)
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/888137/woolworths-full-cream-milk
Table Spread Margerine, $3 ($54)
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/29016/essentials-table-spread-soft-and-spreadable
So the total of that shop is roughly (assuming I have the right price for the weighted items, and have selected the exact right items) $54 today in Melbourne, Australia.
The cigarettes, Not sure of the brand or the number of cigarettes in that pack, but Woolworths don’t seem to advertise them online. Coles do, though, and a 20 pack of “Peter Jackson” branded cigarettes will set you back $57.99
Hey, hey, hey, HEY! The exchange rate du jour is eggs. How many eggs is that? Cuz in my country that’s about 175 of our currencies, and a dozen costs maybe 8 of those, so maybe 23ish dozens? That’s a lot of eggs.
70 USD
Two bottles of shampoo is a lot to drink.
You don’t drink it in one shot.
Wait, what?
Just crying over grocery prices in the US :(
There are 4 things in this pic that I can’t recognize.
If it’s the table spread, that’s a butter-like substance made from recycled tables.
Now 3. Thanks.
The large whitish thing the food appears to be sitting on is most likely a table.
The box on the far left is disposable dentures. There’s also a couple of boxes of beef fingers in the middle (which is why you’ll rarely see a cow in a field still with fingers).
They look like politicians, or local councilmen.
A pack of cigarettes is probably healthier than eating those woolies sausages.
