Chop chop, also known as loose tobacco, is an Australian term for untaxed, cheap, illegal tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

, such as that which is home grown. "Chop chop" avoids heavy excise and taxation levies and can be much cheaper than the legal product. The "chop chop" industry is illegal and unregulated.

Health concerns

Chop Chop is sometimes viewed as being more healthy than normal, branded tobacco. However, research has suggested that it can contain contaminants such as twigs and pulp from raw cotton, hay, cabbage leaves, grass clippings and chloride

Chloride

The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine, a halogen, picks up one electron to form an anion Cl−. The salts of hydrochloric acid HCl contain chloride ions and can also be called chlorides. The chloride ion, and its salts such as sodium chloride, are very soluble in water...

 products. One writer has suggested that mould and fungi are also commonly found in "chop-chop" samples.

Another claim is that smoking "chop-chop" has the potential to cause greater illness, than branded tobacco and possible fatality in those who use it. This is claimed, largely, to the dense volume of fungal contamination that is usually found in samples of "chop-chop". These fungi can cause toxic responses in the lungs, liver

Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...

, kidneys and skin. The illnesses may range from allergic

Allergy

An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...

 reactions, chronic bronchitis

Bronchitis

Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...

 and asthma

Asthma

Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...

 to lung cancer

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

 or legionnaire’s disease

Legionellosis

Legionellosis is a potentially fatal infectious disease caused by gram negative, aerobic bacteria belonging to the genus Legionella. Over 90% of legionellosis cases are caused by Legionella pneumophila, a ubiquitous aquatic organism that thrives in temperatures between , with an optimum temperature...

.

Trafficking

Because of its illegal nature, Chop Chop is often transported and stored in a clandestine manner. A recent example was the discovery of hundreds of kilograms of Chop Chop in an underground bunker in Mareeba, Queensland

Mareeba, Queensland

Mareeba is a town on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland, Australia. The town is above sea level on the confluence of the Barron River, Granite Creek and Emerald Creek. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning meeting of the waters...

. The bunker had a hydraulically operated steel trapdoor that was openable from the owner's bedroom. The bunker was discovered when a taxation officer noticed that the bedroom's floor sounded hollow.

Chop-chop can also find its way into the market via individuals or groups who purchase leaf directly from a tobacco grower, process it for sale, and provide it to a range of retailers (such as tobacconists, market stallholders, hairdressers, newsagents and milk bars) for on-selling. Chop-chop is usually sold in half or one kilogram lots, packed into clear plastic bags in loose leaf form.

Origins of the term

The term "chop chop" was coined in the mid-1890s by staff at an Australian tobacco manufacturer, W.D. & H.O. Wills Australia Limited, endeavouring to combat the illegal trade. The term comes from the production process of the illegal producers - merely chopping up the cured tobacco leaves.