Illegal Tobacco and Vaping Products

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (14:51): 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) (14:51): I thank the member for Torrens for her question and her interest. We are seeing a concerning trend in the sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products in South Australia and around the country. The sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products is becoming increasingly blatant, potentially involving serious and organised crime.

The Malinauskas Labor government is cracking down on illicit tobacco and vaping products in conjunction with the Albanese Labor government. Of course, new national legislation came into effect on 1 July 2024 to shut down the non-therapeutic retail industry by making the sale and supply of such vapes by retailers unlawful.

There has been a rapid growth in the illicit tobacco and vape trade across Australia in recent years, and it is a trade that is putting some people in danger. In Victoria we have seen regular reports of shops selling illegal tobacco being firebombed, as organised crime gangs seek to push out the competition. The threat is such that Victoria Police have written to the state's landlords to advise them of the risks of leasing their shopfronts to tobacconists.

Thankfully we have not seen any similar escalation of violence in South Australia as that being experienced in Victoria, which is creating a serious risk to the safety of people in the vicinity of those illegal tobacco shops interstate. That is why we are taking strong measures to stamp out the illicit tobacco trade and to ensure that we do not see the escalation of violence, as has been witnessed over the border.

In addition to the serious harm caused by these organised criminal gangs, these products have not gone through the appropriate excise licensing or customs duty processes, and we know that they potentially pose additional health risks to consumers.

One of the most concerning aspects has been the uptake of vaping in young people. The rates of vaping in secondary school students has more than doubled between 2017 and 2023 from 13.5 per cent to 29.9 per cent. Amongst people from 15 to 29 years old it has risen from 2.6 per cent in 2014 to 15.1 per cent in 2023.

We have committed more than $16 million to stop the growth of this illegal trade. As of 1 July the Premier has tasked me and my agency, Consumer and Business Services, with enforcing licensing and enforcement activities for the sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products in South Australia. Since we have assumed responsibility, CBS has been ramping up its enforcement, including onboarding an additional 22 FTEs to cover everything from licence applications, consumer inquiries and inspections.

Inspectors are now out enforcing compliance, and CBS has conducted more than 200 inspections, and confiscated more than 230,000 cigarettes, 606 kilograms of pouch tobacco, 138 kilograms of shisha tobacco, and over 3,500 vapes. Since CBS were tasked with these new compliance and enforcement activities, we have had almost $650,000 worth of illicit tobacco and vaping products taken off our streets.

We know more work must be done to stamp out this insidious crime, and we are committed to driving this illicit trade out of South Australia. We know that smoking is a leading cause of preventable disease and death in South Australia, with 28 South Australians dying every week from tobacco-related diseases. The sale of these illicit tobacco products is funding serious and organised crime, and that is why we are committed to tackling this problem, and will continue to do so.