Tobacco Products Regulation (E-Cigarette Regulation) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 18 May 2017.)

Mr TARZIA (Hartley) (16:38): I rise today to speak to the Tobacco Products Regulation (E-Cigarette Regulation) Amendment Bill 2017 and indicate that I will be the lead speaker on this side of the chamber.

As we know, e-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that vaporise a solution into a fine aerosol that is inhaled into the lungs in a similar way to cigarettes. In 2016, only 1.3 per cent of those surveyed in South Australia were users of electronic cigarettes, but around 30 per cent were cigarette smokers. Currently, South Australia does not have legislation, as we are aware, that regulates the sale, use and promotion of e-cigarettes which do not contain nicotine and which do not resemble a tobacco product.

These products may be legally sold or supplied to children at the moment, which is wrong and which is what we are trying to correct. They can be advertised and displayed. They can also be used in enclosed public spaces. It is not illegal to market non-nicotine electronic cigarettes with therapeutic claims. In Queensland, there is regulation of e-cigarettes in the same way as for other tobacco products. In New South Wales, they have actually banned the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, and I understand the Western Australian government has successfully prosecuted an e-cigarette retailer for selling a vaporiser that looked like a tobacco product.

In 2014, a select committee of the House of Assembly was established to inquire into and examine possible legislative restrictions on e-cigarettes. The final report tabled in February 2016 presented 20 recommendations relating to the sale, display, advertising and use of e-cigarettes. In the past, you would note, Deputy Speaker, that I introduced a bill that sought to prevent children accessing e-cigarette products. I think it is imperative that we prevent children from accessing e-cigarettes. This is consistent with current legislation proposed. The government voted down the bill in early 2017. The government then introduced the Tobacco Production Regulation (E-Cigarette Regulation) Amendment Bill 2017 on 18 May, some 15 months after the tabling of the final report.

Obviously the potential risks and also potential benefits of e-cigarettes are currently disputed among tobacco control and public health experts. Some argue that e-cigarettes have the potential to reduce the number of smoking-related deaths and diseases by assisting smokers to quit or by providing a safer, less toxic alternative to tobacco cigarettes. However, some experts argue that the long-term health effects are unknown, which is why we need careful regulation in this area.

At a community level, there is concern that the potential benefits to smokers are outweighed by the risks posed by widespread e-cigarette use within the community. For example, we do not want to make it socially acceptable again to smoke, especially for young people. It is imperative that we send the right message to young people: that smoking is not good and it should not be done. There are also concerns that this does provide a gateway into nicotine addiction and tobacco cigarette smoking. Also, if the area is not properly regulated, it can undermine the regulation of smoke-free environments.

The World Health Organization concluded in it substantive report in 2014, which was updated in August 2016, that the evidence for the safety of e-cigarettes and their capacity to aid smoking cessation has not been established. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) concurs with this conclusion. The CEO of the NHMRC has actually said:

There is currently insufficient evidence to conclude whether e-cigarettes can benefit smokers in quitting, or about the extent of their potential harms. It is recommended that health authorities act to minimise harm until evidence of safety, quality and efficacy can be produced. NHMRC is currently funding research into the safety and efficacy of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation.

In the past, health organisations, such as the Cancer Council SA, Heart Foundation (SA Branch), Asthma SA and the Australian Medical Association, have sought a complete ban on e-cigarettes, but I understand that they are supportive of elements of the bill nonetheless. E-cigarettes are still a relatively new product on the market, and we would be ignorant if we thought that they were not out there, because they are. Much is still unknown about the short-term and long-term effects of the health outcomes associated with exposure to e-cigarettes, their components and associated aerosols. I was taught to be cautious, and I think it is wise to be cautious in this regard.

Whilst we are not proposing to ban the products, it is responsible to regulate them. As such, the bill seeks to regulate e-cigarettes in a similar way to tobacco products by amending the Tobacco Products Regulation Act 1997 and to introduce a range of measures to regulate the sale, supply and use of e-cigarettes. The bill seeks to regulate e-cigarettes in a very similar way to Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT and proposed legislation in Victoria and Tasmania, which I think we have proposed in the past, and also to regulate e-cigarettes in a manner that is consistent with many of the select committee recommendations. I know that some of the committee's recommendations have not been proposed. Perhaps the minister could elaborate on why he felt a certain way about certain recommendations. Now it seems that the government has changed its mind on some of these recommendations. I look forward to hearing the minister's comments.

Overall, we are supportive of the amendment bill. Perhaps a topic for future discussion is that while this bill does seek to regulate e-cigarettes, there are other products out there in the market. What we have seen is that part of the industry will always find another way to get around current regulation. We had cigarettes: they move to e-cigarettes. We regulate e-cigarettes: they will go to another product. I already see from doing a quick Google search that there are different products out there. Now there are even heated tobacco products.

The point I am making is that while we are doing everything we can as regulators to regulate e-cigarettes, what about heated tobacco products? I understand that there are heating tobacco products out there. While the idea of heating tobacco instead of burning it has been around for more than two decades, it is only now that companies have found a way to heat tobacco that results in a product that is satisfying to some of these users. What has happened is that these companies are able to actually heat the tobacco products in a distinct way.

One product I have seen on the internet actually uses an electronically controlled heater; another uses a carbon heat source. I think it is a topic for another day, perhaps in the other place. There should also be regard to these other products that are now ahead of the curve. With those remarks, I am grateful that the government has finally come on board to regulate a part of the market whose products we know are accessible to children at the moment. That is completely unacceptable. We want to set the right example for children, which is why we need to create a strong regulatory framework in this area. I look forward to hearing the minister's remarks and I commend the bill to the house.

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (16:47): I rise to support this bill, which seeks to amend the Tobacco Products Regulation Act 1997 by introducing a range of measures to regulate the sale, supply and use of e-cigarettes. In the middle of 2015, I formed and chaired a committee to investigate e-cigarettes and all matters pertaining to them. I was of the view that a select committee inquiry into electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes as they are more commonly known) was necessary as they appeared to be a product about which little was known, including their effects on health. Also there was no age restriction to consumers. Anyone could buy them, meaning that children as young as three or four could actually purchase this particular product, and there appeared to be little known about the effect of the product.

In my proposal to the house in establishing a select committee to investigate and report on e-cigarettes, I identified all matters relating to any legislative or regulatory controls that should be applied to the advertising, sale and use of personal vaporisers and in particular:

the potential for personal vaporisers to reduce tobacco smoking, prevalence and harms;

the potential risks of these products to individual and population health from vapour emissions, poisoning and the reduced impact of tobacco control measures; and

make recommendations on approaches to the regulation of personal vaporisers under the Tobacco Products Regulation Act 1997 including addressing the following areas:

availability and supply;

sales to minors;

advertising and promotion;

use in smoke-free areas;

product safety and quality; and

any other relevant matters.

With a bipartisan committee of members—the member for Fisher, the member for Kaurna, who is now our minister having carriage of this bill here in the house, and the members for Bright and Hartley—we called for papers and witnesses to inform our deliberations and ultimately our unanimously supported recommendations.

There was great interest and this was demonstrated by receiving 142 submissions and the calling of 11 witnesses from a broad range of sectors, including business, health, research, hospitality government and consumers. Committee members attended site visits to gain further depth and insights to better understand all things e-cigarette and the industry.

In South Australia, e-cigarette use is currently low, with only 1.2 per cent of the population using the device, according to 2014 statistics. However as the sector is unregulated and given overseas trends, this figure is likely to continue to grow, and I would suggest that it has already grown since the committee deliberated. The committee established that there are currently many unknowns around the health impacts of electronic cigarettes, including the vapour given off by the device and its impact on third parties. While studies are underway to explore the health effects of e-cigarettes, it will be some time, possibly decades, before we really know and understand how they affect a person's health.

The World Health Organization is calling on governments to regulate e-cigarettes until the safety of the devices and their peripheral components, such as the vaporised solution contained within them, are established. Europe and a number of states in the US are now looking to regulate e-cigarette supply and use. Internationally, e-cigarettes have become very popular in the UK and the US. While a Public Health England report, published in 2015, supported electronic cigarettes as a harm reduction technique for existing smokers, tough new laws came into force across Europe in May last year.

The committee explored the workings of the devices, the liquid or, as they were more commonly referred to, the 'e-juices', the profile of a typical consumer, effects of inhaled and exhaled substances on the aetiology of the lung and body, as well as the effects of passive inhalation of vapour on the aged and also pregnant women. The committee noted the great research that had already been undertaken here in South Australia and, as such, would be supportive of seeing these efforts and endeavours further progressed.

The committee noted the submissions and witnesses who claimed that the device aided in their decreasing or ceasing tobacco smoking. The committee explored the appetite by those who presented this point of view of having the product approved by TGA and, if approved, distributed accordingly. At the conclusion of the committee, 20 recommendations were proposed, covering a range of matters from sales, use, promotion, product safety, enforcement, research and taxation and I am pleased that this bill has adopted eight of the committee's recommendations to ensure safety of the user and the public in the interest of public health.

The bill focuses on critical recommendations that seek to limit sales to minors, licensed retailers, curtail indirect sales (including internet sales), prohibit temporary or pop-up outlets such as vending machines, confine the use of e-cigarettes in areas that are smoke-free under the act, prohibit advertising promotion and specials, and pricing promotions for e-cigarettes at the retail point-of-sale display of e-cigarettes.

The bill aims to have a positive public health impact by regulating e-cigarette products and reducing the potential for harms to the South Australian community. Importantly, and while the evidence is inconclusive whether the product facilitates tobacco smoking behaviour in children, these laws will ensure the strength of these measures and decrease the likelihood of gateway behaviours of children. These laws, importantly, while protecting children, will still allow access by adults who choose to purchase these products. It will also protect other members of the public from being exposed to e-cigarette vapour within the legislated smoke-free areas. With those few words, I commend the bill to the house.

Ms COOK (Fisher) (16:54): I rise to speak in support of the bill as a healthcare worker, a concerned member of the public around the harm that cigarettes can cause, and also as a member of the parliamentary committee moved by the member for Elder—I believe it was last year now—

The Hon. C.J. Picton: The year before.

Ms COOK: —the year before even, so a couple of years ago—and a very good committee it was. The Tobacco Products Regulation (E-Cigarette Regulation) Amendment Bill 2017 aims to bring about important changes to protect the public from the harms that may arise from e-cigarette use. Prohibiting the use of e-cigarettes in areas that are smoke-free under the Tobacco Products Regulation Act 1997 not only helps reduce the community's exposure to e-cigarette vapour but also sends an important message that the government is committed to reducing the harm that may arise from products, owing to emissions that we are not 100 per cent about at this stage.

We know that leading public health bodies in Australia and internationally have raised serious concerns about the potential for e-cigarettes to cause adverse health effects. Both the National Health and Medical Research Council and the WHO have stated that e-cigarettes may expose people to a range of harmful chemicals, and they conclude that action should be taken to minimise harm to users and to bystanders. An important component of this bill is that the use of e-cigarettes would be banned in legislated smoke-free areas.

This will help protect the community from exposure to e-cigarette vapour and risks that may result from the inhalation of these chemicals. It will also mean less confusion for the public and businesses about where these products can be used. Currently, e-cigarettes can be used in places where smoking is already banned. This can undermine the ability of, for example, a business owner to make sure that people are not smoking in their pub or cafe, particularly when the smoke from a cigarette and the vapour from an e-cigarette look very similar. The bill would remove that uncertainty and treat both products in the same way.

The passing of this bill would mean that e-cigarettes could not be used in workplaces or outdoor public areas such as outdoor dining areas, within 10 metres of children's playground equipment, covered public transport areas and in places that are declared outdoor smoke-free areas such as the Royal Adelaide Show, Mosley Square in Glenelg, and Henley Square. This would help protect the health of the community in a range of public places, including those that are often attended by families with children. The reason for regulating the use of e-cigarettes in legislated smoke-free areas is that the research is uncertain about the potential harms of passively inhaling e-cigarette vapour.

We know that for many years citizens smoked freely in restaurants, cars and public places that were confined. Many workers, families and children were exposed to the effects of side-stream smoke without us understanding the consequences, but we do now. I look at it very similarly to e-cigarettes. I have been subject to inhaling a lot of e-cigarette vapour in areas where people are smoking them, or vaping. I am happy for people to have the choice to be able to access e-cigarettes, and I would support that freedom to have that choice, but I also support wholeheartedly the freedom for people to be able to stay away from inhaling the vapour, particularly children.

When thinking about a young person in a car where people use e-cigarettes, people eating meals in outdoor areas and employees at workplaces where people use e-cigarettes, I think this bill will go a long way to supporting people's rights in terms of their own freedom from vaping and the consequence of the vapour. With those few words, I wholeheartedly support the bill which addresses the issue of e-cigarettes and helps to protect the air quality in spaces where people are having recreational time, keeping them from being subjected to the vapour. I support the bill.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health, Minister Assisting the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (16:58): I thank all the honourable members who have spoken on this very important bill, particularly the members for Elder, Fisher and Hartley. I thank the opposition for indicating their support for this bill; in fact, all four of us, together with the member for Bright, were on the initial select committee established to inquire into this matter. It was initiated by the member for Elder. I thank her for her decision to bring this forward to the parliament, which has ultimately led to the bill we are debating today.

As has been discussed, this bill provides an important regulatory regime that balances adult access to these products with the protection of public health, including safeguarding our young people. It is very pleasing to note that tobacco smoking rates among our entire population, including younger people, have fallen dramatically in recent decades. In 2007, 23 per cent of people aged 15 to 29 were smokers. In 2016, that figure had reduced to 12.3 per cent, so it almost halved. The government's target for youth smoking in the South Australian Tobacco Control Strategy 2011-2016 was achieved two years ahead of time.

Strong tobacco control regulation and programs, including smoke-free areas, mass media campaigns, bans on advertising and increased excise have all contributed to the fall in youth smoking rates. I would add plain packaging as well, which I was involved in. What impact e-cigarette use has on human health is still unknown, particularly so for young people. There is also the potential for e-cigarettes to be a gateway to smoking. The South Australian government is not prepared to leave the door open to this possibility.

As members would be aware, this is something we have discussed in this parliament a number of times. I have made a number of contributions giving my thoughts and views on the subject leading into that select committee, all of which I will not be repeating, but we do need to take a precautionary approach to this new technology. We are not banning it outright, as some have proposed; at the same time, we are not allowing free and unregulated access, as some people would propose. We are taking a precautionary approach to this new technology.

Young people who avoid taking up smoking today are much more likely to be healthier and avoid a variety of diseases when they are older. The passage of this bill will have a positive impact on the health of the community. The ban on using e-cigarettes in areas that are smoke free under the Tobacco Products Regulation Act will reduce the likelihood of exposure to e-cigarette vapour in public places and reduce health risks that may be associated with this exposure.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank parliamentary counsel, the staff of Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia and everybody associated at SA Health for their support and assistance on the bill. I would like to thank the member for Elder and all the members of the Select Committee on E-Cigarettes for their work in examining the legislative and regulatory controls that could be applied to e-cigarettes. I believe the bill takes on eight of those recommendations. As a member of that committee, I am slightly biased, but I think there are some more regulations that I am sure the government will consider over time.

It is important that we continue to protect the community from the harms of smoking and I thank honourable members who have supported this. I would also like to thank the member for Taylor, the former minister for mental health and substance abuse, for her hard work on the bill and bringing it before the parliament, and I endorse it to the house.

Bill read a second time.

Third Reading

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health, Minister Assisting the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (17:02): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

Sitting extended beyond 17:00 on motion of Hon. C.J. Picton.