Chop chop

Chop-chop, also known as loose tobacco, is an Australian term for untaxed illegal tobacco, such as that which is homegrown. The practice of using chop-chop emerged in evasion of heavy excise and taxation levies, sharply lowering the cost compared to legally marketed products. The chop-chop industry is by definition illegal and unregulated. It is considered an inferior product by the consumer to legal tobacco in taste but attractive as its price to the consumer is considerably less. Market It is estimated in May 2018, that in Australia about 864 tonnes of chop-chop is sold each year which is about 40% of the total legal Australian market of loose tobacco of 2,150 tonnes a year. In the previous year the Australian Taxation Office seized 117 tonnes. The value of the market ranges from KPMG at $1.6 billion to Rohan Pike Consulting at $3.8 billion a year. Health concerns Chop-chop is sometimes viewed as being more healthy than mass-produced branded tobacco. Research suggests that contaminants are common and include twigs and pulp from raw cotton, hay, cabbage leaves, grass clippings and chloride products. One writer has suggested that mould and fungi are also likely to be found in chop-chop samples.