Tobacco Products Regulation (E-Cigarettes and Review) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 26 July 2018.)

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (16:30): This bill will make changes to the Tobacco Products Regulation Act so that e-cigarettes are treated in the same manner as traditional tobacco products, such as cigarettes. I understand the changes are in response to the select committee, which was established last year to investigate e-cigarettes. Whilst the bill does not adopt all the recommendations made in the final report, the bill does adopt the key recommendations, and are made in the spirit of the report.

It is alarming that there are currently no rules governing the sale of e-cigarettes and associated products, and it demonstrates the need for governments to be proactive on developing technologies and products in our community. Without any oversight, this means that anybody, including children, is able to purchase these products. This is very concerning.

I understand that e-cigarettes are often used as an alternative for smokers and, whilst it is good that this is assisting people to quit smoking cigarettes, the effect of smoking e-cigarettes is not yet proven, and I think it is best that we proceed with caution. I am aware that this is not the path that has been taken overseas, particularly in the UK and Canada. However, there are certainly enough people who have voiced their concerns about the use and unknown effects of these products to make me think long and hard about promoting them as a healthy alternative.

After all, for decades smoking cigarettes was touted as being healthy, and the tobacco companies have only relatively recently admitted to the negative health effects of smoking cigarettes, notwithstanding the concerns that were raised about cigarettes from those in the health and research sectors.

The bill will require those who want to sell e-cigarettes or associated products to be licensed under the act. I understand it will only be one licence to sell both e-cigarettes and also tobacco products. Clarity on where e-cigarettes can and cannot be used will also be provided in the bill, as it will be made clear that, if smoking is prohibited, this will automatically include e-cigarettes too.

The bill also makes a number of amendments to the act as a result of an independent review undertaken by Dr Chris Reynolds last year. These amendments will again provide clarity on certain aspects of the act and assist compliance officers with enforcement. I support the bill.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (16:33): Thank you, Mr President, for allowing me to speak on a substantive matter today; I am very grateful.

The PRESIDENT: I appreciate your gratitude, at such a late part of the day.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I rise to speak on the Tobacco Products Regulation (E-Cigarettes and Review) Amendment Bill. I indicate that I will be the lead opposition speaker on this bill, and that we intend to support the bill. This bill substantially resembles the Labor government bill introduced in the House of Assembly last year, which is an occurrence we are seeing frequently: the bill represents something that we had previously introduced, which is one of the reasons we are supportive of it. We then reintroduced the bill in this parliamentary session as a private members' bill, which currently sits before the house. The Labor opposition did this because it is an incredibly important reform that should be acted on as soon as possible.

The shadow minister for health and wellbeing, the member for Kaurna, had written to the health minister inquiring as to whether he was indeed planning to reintroduce this bill. After receiving no response for well over a month, the member for Kaurna decided to take matters into his own hands and get moving on this vital piece of information. We are glad to see the minister has now realised that this is important and that e-cigarettes do require a regulatory framework. It is just unfortunate that it has taken so many months to reach this point.

The legislation presented to the council is substantially similar, as I said, to one that has previously been introduced. It seeks to establish a regulatory scheme for e-cigarettes, a product that is currently not regulated in South Australia. The bill seeks to introduce a range of different measures to regulate the sale, supply and use of e-cigarettes. In particular, the bill seeks to prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to children; retail sales of e-cigarette products without a licence; indirect sales of e-cigarettes such as internet sales; e-cigarette sales from temporary outlets, sales trays and vending machines; the use of e-cigarettes in areas that are smoke-free under the act; advertising promotion specials and pricing promotions for e-cigarettes; and retail point-of-sale display of e-cigarettes.

The government's version of the bill does contain some new additions, many of which are minor rewording adjustments or simply taking the opportunity to make tidy-ups to the act itself. However, there are two changes I would briefly like to mention. Firstly, the bill now clarifies that shisha falls under the definition of a tobacco product, regardless of whether the product contains tobacco. At the verbal briefing, I understand it was put that these products are already covered in the act. However, this has at times been difficult to enforce. We have had a concrete definition in the act. The new addition to the bill is something that we will discuss further during the committee stage.

The other change I would like to note is the adjustment of the penalties to the act according to CPI. We are not sure some of these penalty adjustments go far enough, for instance the adjustments to the penalty for selling tobacco products to minors. It might be that the penalty for selling tobacco products to minors should be in line with the penalty provisions for selling alcohol to minors under the Liquor Licensing Act as recently amended. This is something the opposition may look to amend, and we hope councillors in this chamber, if we do, will see that as a common-sense change.

When in government, Labor had a proud record on tobacco product regulation and on reducing the harmful effects of smoking. The Labor government introduced a ban on smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces, phasing in licensed hospitality locations in 2004 and extending this ban to the Adelaide Casino later. In mid-2007, the then Labor government led the nation in banning smoking in vehicles with children under the age of 16 present in the car. This was a critical reform aimed at protecting our vulnerable children from the harmful effects of passive smoking.

We implemented an outdoor dining ban on smoking as of July 2016, banning smoking in alfresco areas where meals are served. We believe that families going out for a meal should not have to be exposed to the harmful effects of passive smoking. More broadly, implementing the ban sent a message that smoking is becoming less and less acceptable in public settings. We must continue to progress towards a universal view that smoking is no longer acceptable in our society, that the dangerous effects of smoking are well known and that it is a bad decision to take up this habit in today's world.

Just last year, the Labor government announced a policy to eliminate smoking across all South Australian prisons by the end of 2019. I trust that the new government, under the direction of the new minister in this respect, is working hard to implement this policy. We are pleased to see that the government has introduced this legislation, which is very similar to the previous Labor government's legislation, despite the slow pace of its introduction. I commend the bill to the council, noting that it has substantially reintroduced good Labor policy, and look forward to further discussions during the committee stage.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.