Illegal Tobacco and Vaping Products

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (16:49): My question is to the Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs. Can the minister update the house on how the government is cracking down on illegal tobacco and vapes?

The Hon. A. MICHAELS (Enfield—Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts) (16:50): Yes, I can update the house on the crackdown, and I want to thank the member for Gibson for her question. We are seeing a growing trend in the sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products. The sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products is becoming increasingly blatant. We know that there are elements of serious and organised crime groups involved.

Last year, there was an eight-week blitz that yielded more than 4,500 illegal vapes being taken off the streets. Twelve Adelaide businesses were slapped with fines as part of a targeted crackdown on illegal nicotine sales, but this is really just the tip of the iceberg. The Malinauskas Labor government has committed to taking steps to put a halt on the sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products in South Australia, with a significant funding boost to shake up enforcement against this criminal activity.

The government is investing more than $16 million over the next four years, announced in the recent budget, to stifle this growing illegal trade, with licensing and enforcement to be driven by officers in Consumer and Business Services. This funding will be used by CBS to get more inspectors out on the street to enforce compliance with licensing and the sale of tobacco and vaping products. From Monday, CBS will take on the licensing functions currently undertaken through SA Health, ensuring existing licensees are complying with the law and investigating any reports of illegal sales.

CBS will assume responsibility for licensing of tobacco and vapes and enforcement relating to their sale and supply, with approximately 20 additional full-time equivalent employees recruited to cover everything from licensing through to inspecting and enforcement. CBS will of course work closely with SAPOL and national law enforcement and regulatory agencies where links to organised crime or other risks are identified.

The tougher compliance approach is necessary to tackle the criminal activities that are occurring. This new enforcement model is designed to stop the supply of cheap cigarettes onto our streets and keep vapes out of the hands of our children. We saw this week the federal government announce that from 1 July vapes with or without nicotine will not be able to be sold by anyone other than pharmacists. Of course, as the Minister for Health has indicated, vapes contain hundreds of harmful chemicals, heavy metals and toxins such as formaldehyde, arsenic and lead.

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: That's why pharmacists don't want to sell them. They are not about killing people: they are about saving people's lives.

The SPEAKER: Member for Unley, please listen to the minister in silence.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS: These ingredients can cause cancer, heart disease and lung damage. The majority of e-cigarettes contain nicotine, with known harms of vaping including nicotine addiction and symptoms of nicotine poisoning such as vomiting, nausea and diarrhoea. According to a 2022-23 study, more than a quarter of students in South Australia had used e-cigarettes, which is a substantial increase on previous years. I am certainly keen to see a reversal of this trend, as I know the Minister for Health and the Minister for Education are as well.

Not only will CBS be seeking to tackle illegal tobacco and vapes and take them off the street but they will have the power to cancel and suspend licences of stores that permit the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes. CBS will have the ability to impose expiation notices of an amount in penalties ranging from $1,200 up to $50,000 depending on the offence, and I want to briefly acknowledge the Hon. Connie Bonaros in the other place for introducing a bill last year that passed the parliament to increase these penalties. CBS will ramp up its activities come Monday, and I look forward to seeing the results of that in the coming months and years.