Tommy Lee is going away mad after visiting Australia for the latest Mötley Crüe tour, and it’s all over the price of cigarettes. The drummer got fired up after being forced to fork out AUS $62.99 for a pack of Marlboro Gold 25s from a Melbourne 7-Eleven.
“$251.96 for 4 packs of smokes here in Melbourne!!!” Lee wrote in an Instagram post that featured a copy of his receipt. The caption included a devil emoji and two middle fingers. “7/11 wonderfully cheesier!”
The hard rock musician visited the convenience store in Southbank on Sunday night to buy ciggies, only to be confronted by Australia’s sky-high tobacco taxes.
According to data collected by the Cancer Council of Victoria, the cost of a pack of 25 to 30 darts – which used to cost just a few dollars back in the early 90s – has increased to well over $40.
“Australia meets international best practice in tobacco taxation level [75%] with 77% of the retail price of cigarettes made up in taxes,” Professor Coral Gartner, an international expert in tobacco control and director of research at the University of Queensland’s school of public health, told The Guardian.
“Tommy Lee is used to paying less for his cigarettes [in the US], which falls well below the recommended level, with only about 37% of the price made up in taxes,” Gartner said.
Buying a packet of ciggies in the US generally costs about AUD $12.
Gartner added, “If Tommy Lee visits New Zealand, he may also be surprised to find that cigarette prices are similarly high, with taxes making up about 83% of the retail price.”
Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard recently wrapped up a three-show stadium tour around Australia. You can peep the setlists right here.
Further Reading
Tommy Lee Posts Full Blown Dick Pic On Insta, Sends Internet Into Meltdown
Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe 2023 Australian Tour Setlists
Upcoming Show ‘Pam And Tommy’ Features A Conversation Between Tommy Lee And His Penis
