Tobacco wars: Cook Government cuts tobacco enforcement inspections as dangerous war erupts

As the State’s tobacco war continues to spiral out of control with violent shootings and arson attacks, the Cook Government has slashed the number of checks on potentially dodgy retailers in a move labelled “breathtaking incompetence.” Officers from the Department of Health’s tobacco compliance team conducted 751 inspections on tobacconists and convenience stores in 2025, the lowest number in five years. That’s a more than 61 per cent decrease compared to the 1940 inspections in 2021, and a drop of almost 40 per cent in 12 months from the 1226 inspections made in 2024. The Health Department only fessed-up about the appalling result after it was uncovered by The West Australian. It’s an embarrassing blow for the Cook Government, which has continued to talk tough and promise stronger laws to stamp out the burgeoning tobacco trade. Just this week, a 14-year-old boy faced Perth Children’s Court accused of being recruited by a crime syndicate to carry out an arson attack on a Baldivis Convenience Store days before Christmas. Then, on Sunday, a Bunbury convenience store went up in flames, in what police are investigating as a suspected arson attack linked to the tobacco trade. Shadow police minister Adam Hort was outraged by the lack of enforcement from the government. “This is breathtaking incompetence. Small businesses are being torched and lives are being put at risk while this government sits on its hands,” Mr Hort said. “At the same time inspections have been slashed, we are getting reports of primary school aged children buying cigarettes from these shops. Compliance has collapsed and criminals know it.” Mr Hort put the blame squarely on Health Minister Meredith Hammat and Police Minister Reece Whitby for failing to properly stamp out stores selling dodgy cigarettes. “We have no faith this issue is being treated seriously or with any urgency while it remains in their hands,” he said. “The Premier must step in and make this a government priority before an innocent member of the public is seriously injured or killed.” WA continues to lag behind the rest of the country when it comes to legislative reforms, with Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia passing similar laws last year that give police the powers to forcibly shut retailers down. Victoria requires stores to be licensed. In a statement, a State Government spokesperson blamed “larger” and “more complex” investigations for the lack of enforcement effort. “It is essential that WA Health continue to work with WA Police and Federal enforcement agencies to ensure wider criminal investigations are not compromised,” the spokesperson said. “This is why our Government has committed to updating tobacco control legislation - to protect West Australians from these harmful products and to strengthen enforcement measures to reflect the ongoing evolution of the illicit tobacco and vape trade.” In August, Mr Whitby said the government was looking at “tougher laws” to shut down retailers caught selling illicit products. He doubled down a month later and said the laws were being handled “as a priority”. On Tuesday, Amber-Jade Sanderson said the Cook Government was currently drafting legislation. “Obviously, we’ve started to see a ramp up of that violent behaviour and really concerning behaviour, particularly from larger-scale operators in the illicit tobacco area,” she said. The violent tobacco war has been escalating for more than a year, and hit a flash point in mid-2025, when three Perth businesses were allegedly targeted in drive-by-shootings in one weekend. On August 9, two bullets were fired into the front roller door of the Smoke Station tobacconist on Cecil Avenue in Cannington in the early hours of the morning. At 4.30am the following day, more shots were fired at the smoke shop, before two people in a black Holden Barina fled. The bullets narrowly missed a security guard, who was sitting in his car outside the store. Less than five hours’ later, a window at The Firkin Pub and a vehicle in the carpark were damaged in another shooting in Ballajura. The next morning, on August 11, a Molotov cocktail was allegedly thrown at the Candy Station shop in Ballajura. That same premises was targeted again in a drive-by-shooting on December 4. Two tobacconists in Midland, a gift store in Gosnells, beauty salon in Orelia and a shop in the Wheatbelt have all allegedly been targeted in attacks linked to the tobacco war.