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Hawkesbury’s tobacco and smoke retailers are increasingly feeling the effects of a worldwide boom in illicit cigarette trade, as revealed by recent shipping records showing billions of cigarettes moving from Dubai through Asia and into Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald investigation found that Manchester brand cigarettes, legally produced in the UAE, are being exported to Asian ports and then smuggled into Australia. With packets costing less than $1 overseas and selling for up to $25 locally, the illicit market is highly lucrative. Experts estimate organised crime now controls up to 75 per cent of Australia’s illicit tobacco trade.
Locally, the impact is tangible. Hawkesbury towns like Windsor, Richmond, North Richmond, and South Windsor are home to a network of tobacco shops.
While overall smoking rates in Australia have fallen, these cheap imported cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular, quickly finding their way into local shops. Many of these new tobacconists have replaced small businesses that would otherwise provide more direct economic and social benefits to the Hawkesbury, such as local cafés, family-owned retailers, or community-focused stores.
Health authorities warn that the proliferation of these outlets not only fuels demand for illicit tobacco but also contributes little to the local economy compared to what alternative businesses could offer.
As Australia continues to raise excise taxes on tobacco, the Hawkesbury experience shows how global criminal networks are adapting and how local communities are caught in the crossfire of a multibillion-dollar tobacco industry that spans continents, often at the expense of businesses that could truly benefit the region.
Why More Tobacco Shops Are Opening
The rapid expansion of tobacco shops is primarily profit-driven. Tobacco products, particularly cheap or illicit cigarettes, generate high margins, and more shops mean increased sales and market dominance. Saturating towns like Windsor or Richmond ensures that popular brands like Manchester are easily accessible, even when sold illegally.
The clustering of tobacconists can displace businesses that would provide greater benefits to the Hawkesbury community while exploiting steady local demand for cheaper cigarettes and other tobacco products. In effect, the proliferation of shops serves commercial and criminal interests more than the community itself, keeping Hawkesbury firmly on the map as a hub for both legal and illicit tobacco sales.
Ben Woodbury local business owner of 'Lord Muck' George Street Windsor says
"You’d think town planning might include a little foresight about the mix of businesses that shape a main street.
Hawkesbury Council likes to 'clutch their pearls' when there’s illegal trade exposed; but what did they expect? It feels like council is running an experiment to see how many tobacconists can fit into the Hawkesbury before the character of the towns disappear entirely."
Impact on Young People
The explosion of tobacco shops has direct implications for youth in the Hawkesbury by increasing accessibility, normalization of smoking and exposure to vaping products.
Hawkesbury’s growing tobacco retail footprint underscores the tension between local commerce and public health particularly in protecting the region’s young people from early exposure to smoking and vaping.
Cancer Council experts warn that the proliferation of tobacconists and vape shops, even in regional areas like the Hawkesbury, can increase visibility and social acceptability of smoking and vaping among youth, reinforcing the risk.
This story contains information originally published from The Sydney Morning Herald by Chris Vedelago, Marta Pascual Juanola and the Visual Stories Team
February 19, 2026 For the original full story see the link below: https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2026/manchester-shipping/index.html?isMobileApp=
