Industry leader reacts to Allan government tobacco licensing announcement

The Allan government is set to introduce a tobacco store licensing scheme after several arson attacks on tobacco stores over the past year.

Chief executive officer of the Australian Association of Convenience Stores, Theo Foukkare, says the news is welcomed.

“As we all know, Victoria is the only state that hasn’t had any licensing framework … which is one of the reasons why we ended up with a turf war,” he told Tom Elliott.

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He also says “time will tell” if the turf war ends.

“Will it eliminate the black market? No. Will it put a dent in it? … Absolutely,” he said.

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